Archiv für Kriminologie
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Archiv für Kriminologie · Jan 2013
Review[Legal issues of physician-assisted euthanasia. Part II--Help in the dying process, direct and indirect active euthanasia].
In Germany, physician-assisted euthanasia involves numerous risks for the attending physician under criminal and professional law. In the absence of clear legal provisions, four different categories of euthanasia have been developed in legal practice and the relevant literature: help in the dying process, direct active euthanasia, indirect active euthanasia and passive euthanasia. The so-called "help during the dying process" by administering medically indicated analgesic drugs without a life-shortening effect is exempt from punishment if it corresponds to the will of the patient. ⋯ Nevertheless, the action may be subject to punishment if the physician omits to rescue the life of an unconscious suicide victim. "Palliative sedation" is regarded as a special case. It may become necessary if certain symptoms in the terminal stage of a fatal disease unbearable for the patient cannot be controlled by any other means. The legal assessment of "palliative sedation" depends on the circumstances of the individual case, in particular the "informed consent" of the patient and the physician's intention.