INTRODUCTION

As medical technology advances and it becomes increasingly possible to keep people alive who previously would have died, medical professionals and the public have been exercised by issues of death and dying. For some the possibility of extended life in a debilitated condition may not be preferable, while the ideals of others who seek perpetual life and youth may not be possible. Inevitably tensions will arise when it comes to making medical decisions about these boundaries. Life and death are traditionally the domain of the medical profession but at a time of rapid legal and medical development medical professionals need to be certain that their practise accords with the law and ethics.

In a climate of enhanced patient autonomy and following a number of high profile legal cases and permissive legal reforms or attitudes in other jurisdictions, repeated public opinion polls suggest that there is significant support for assisted dying. Generally patients wish to be involved in medical decision-making and to retain control of their lives until they die. For some, as Ronald Dworkin explains, this means requesting or seeking assistance to die, ‘everyday rational people all over the world plead to be allowed to die. Sometimes they plead for others to kill them.