Relationship Between Euthanasia and the Patient’s Right to Self-Determination

Abstract

The concept of euthanasia, which is formed by combining the words goods and death, means sweet and painless death, easy death. Legal definition of euthanasia is the death of the person whose death is inevitable and who cannot be cured according to the data of medical science or who is in unbearable pain, based on his consent, or leaving the medical aid to die by cutting it off. The patient’s right to determine his own future, on the other hand, means that a patient who has the opportunity and will to make his own decision uses his own life choices voluntarily. With this right, the patient can choose not only what is best for him, but also a situation that is contrary to his interests. In order for this right to be exercised in the best way, the patient must know exactly the processes related to treatment. Although euthanasia and the patient’s right to self-determination seem to be similar rights in terms of purpose, they contain various differences. In fact, euthanasia is a type of right included in the patient’s right to self-determination. In this context, euthanasia includes the termination of life and the denial of treatment necessary for life. On the other hand, the right to self-determination requires the patient to have a decisive and preliminary character in all treatment attempts. In this study, the relationship between euthanasia and the patient’s right to self-determination will be examined in recognition of doctrine and comparative law, and certain criteria will be put forward.