How common is legalized euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide? 4 things to know

Although more countries and U.S. states are legalizing euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, the practices remain rare, according a new study publishing in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia analyzed a variety of resources to assess the legal status of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide across the globe.

The practices are considered at least partially legal in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Canada and Colombia. Within the U.S., physician-assisted suicide is legal in Oregon, Washington, Montana, Vermont and California, according to Reuters.

While definitions of the practices vary by location, euthanasia generally refers to a physician taking actions to end a patient's life. Physician-assisted suicide refers to situations where patients take pills prescribed by a physician to end their own lives.

Here are four things to know about the study's findings:

  1. While cancer patients use legalized euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide the most — representing two-thirds of all cases — researchers found no evidence of widespread abuse for these practices.

  2. U.S. support for physician-assisted suicide has increased from 37 percent in 1947 to about 66 percent in 1990, where it has leveled off in 2016.

  3. In countries that legalized the practices, 0.3 to 4.6 percent of deaths are from physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia.

  4. The largest motivating factors for these practices are loss of autonomy and inability to enjoy life due to pain .[AC31] The majority of people requesting either practice are elderly, white and well-educated.

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