Comparison of official reporting on assisted suicide and euthanasia across jurisdictions

Abstract

ObjectivesOfficial data reports from countries where assisted suicide and euthanasia is legal are an important resource for discerning participation rates, patient safety and transparency in the way that assisted dying is legal. We aimed to identify what information is published in official data reports on assisted suicide and euthanasia across jurisdictions.MethodsWe searched for official data reports from every jurisdiction where assisted suicide or euthanasia is legal. Searches were conducted on these countries’ official health authority websites as well as on mainstream search engines. The data measures included within each report were described in four categories: participation data, patient characteristics, clinician characteristics, and drugs and dying process.ResultsWe found that 16 jurisdictions where assisted suicide or euthanasia is currently legal regularly publish data reports regarding its practice. The information included within these official reports varies greatly, with few measures published across all or most jurisdictions.ConclusionsDifferences in the kinds of information published within official reports on assisted suicide and euthanasia makes comparing the practice of assisted suicide and euthanasia across jurisdictions challenging. Many jurisdictions fail to report data measures, which could be valuable to the understanding of assisted suicide and euthanasia practices within that country. Improving data reporting across jurisdictions where assisted suicide and euthanasia is legal, for example, through establishing minimum requirements for data collection and reporting, is an important step towards ensuring patient safety and the transparent practice of assisted suicide and euthanasia.