Policy Tag: Physician-Assisted Suicide

Adopted by the 70th WMA General Assembly, Tbilisi, Georgia, October 2019

 

The WMA reiterates its strong commitment to the principles of medical ethics and that utmost respect has to be maintained for human life. Therefore, the WMA is firmly opposed to euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide.

For the purpose of this declaration, euthanasia is defined as a physician deliberately administering a lethal substance or carrying out an intervention to cause the death of a patient with decision-making capacity at the patient’s own voluntary request. Physician-assisted suicide refers to cases in which, at the voluntary request of a patient with decision-making capacity, a physician deliberately enables a patient to end his or her own life by prescribing or providing medical substances with the intent to bring about death.

No physician should be forced to participate in euthanasia or assisted suicide, nor should any physician be obliged to make referral decisions to this end.

Separately, the physician who respects the basic right of the patient to decline medical treatment does not act unethically in forgoing or withholding unwanted care, even if respecting such a wish results in the death of the patient.

Adopted by the 44th World Medical Assembly, Marbella, Spain, September 1992,
editorially revised by the 170th WMA Council Session, Divonne-les-Bains, France, May 2005,
reaffirmed by the 200th WMA Council Session, Oslo, Norway, April 2015 and
rescinded and archived by the 70th WMA General Assembly, Tbilisi, October 2019
* This document has been replaced by the completely rewritten  “WMA Declaration on Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide” (2019)

 

Physician-assisted suicide, like euthanasia, is unethical and must be condemned by the medical profession. Where the assistance of the physician is intentionally and deliberately directed at enabling an individual to end his or her own life, the physician acts unethically. However the right to decline medical treatment is a basic right of the patient and the physician does not act unethically even if respecting such a wish results in the death of the patient.

Adopted by the 53rd WMA General Assembly, Washington, DC, USA, October 2002,
reaffirmed with minor revision by the 194th WMA Council Session, Bali, Indonesia, April 2013 and
and rescinded and archived by the 70th WMA General Assembly, Tbilisi, October 2019
* This document has been replaced by the completely rewritten  “WMA Declaration on Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide” (2019)

 

The World Medical Association’s Declaration on Euthanasia, adopted by the 38th World Medical Assembly, Madrid, Spain, October 1987 and reaffirmed by the 170th WMA Council Session, Divonne-les-Bains, France, May 2005 states:
“Euthanasia, that is the act of deliberately ending the life of a patient, even at the patient’s own request or at the request of close relatives, is unethical. This does not prevent the physician from respecting the desire of a patient to allow the natural process of death to follow its course in the terminal phase of sickness.”

The WMA Statement on Physician-Assisted Suicide, adopted by the 44th World Medical Assembly, Marbella, Spain, September 1992 and editorially revised by the 170th WMA Council Session, Divonne-les-Bains, France, May 2005 likewise states:
“Physicians-assisted suicide, like euthanasia, is unethical and must be condemned by the medical profession. Where the assistance of the physician is intentionally and deliberately directed at enabling an individual to end his or her own life, the physician acts unethically. However the right to decline medical treatment is a basic right of the patient and the physician does not act unethically even if respecting such a wish results in the death of the patient.”

The World Medical Association has noted that the practice of active euthanasia with physician assistance, has been adopted into law in some countries.

BE IT RESOLVED that:

The World Medical Association reaffirms its strong belief that euthanasia is in conflict with basic ethical principles of medical practice, and

The World Medical Association strongly encourages all National Medical Associations and physicians to refrain from participating in euthanasia, even if national law allows it or decriminalizes it under certain conditions.