Biblioteca PGR


PP1016
Analítico de Periódico



DRPLJANIN, Vildan
The right to die : euthanasia and assisted dying under the European Convention on Human Rights / Vildan Drpljanin
Católica Law Review, Lisboa, v.3 n.1 (Jan. 2019), p.117-157


DIREITO PENAL, ÉTICA MÉDICA, EUTANÁSIA, MORTE ASSISTIDA, AUTONOMIA DA VONTADE, CONVENÇÃO EUROPEIA DOS DIREITOS DO HOMEM, TRIBUNAL EUROPEU DOS DIREITOS DO HOMEM, INVIOLABILIDADE, DIREITO À VIDA

The debate around the legalisation of euthanasia and/or assisted dying has been discussed for many years now. Yet, questions regarding the extent to which a person has autonomy over her or his body and the dilemma whether states are obliged to protect the right to life, even against the will of the person whose life they are preserving, still provoke vigorous disagreements and keep the debate at a stalemate. This paper examines the issue and analyses the European Court of Human Rights cases in order to consider the legal options of euthanasia and assisted dying under the European Convention of Human Rights. The social, ethical and religious complexities, the absence of a European consensus, and the very valid points for and against legalisation, act as a starting point for further exploration, The adopted approach assesses the conflict between individual autonomous choices and the self-worth of human life in general from the standpoint of human dignity. Thus, the paper transcends euthanasia, assisted dying and the Convention, and analyses the very principles that underlie human rights.