Euthanasia Under Criminal Law

Euthanasia has become a worldwide hotspot topic. It concerns the right of life, and irreversible once executed, therefore, euthanasia is deemed as a very serious issue. The common values nowadays are kept changing with the medical technology advancement and social progress. In recent years, there are more and more supports towards euthanasia, which makes it necessary to treat this topic more seriously.It is almost a huge challenge to all the countries that whether euthanasia should be legalized. Currently, there are different opinions on the definition of euthanasia. The difference in definition also means the difference in scope, and this will greatly influence the legalization of euthanasia. So how euthanasia should be legalized?This paper comprises four parts besides the introduction and conclusion:Part I: overview of euthanasia. A clear understanding on the basic concept, composition and classification of euthanasia is the precondition for any further discussions. This part analyzes the definition of euthanasia, and elaborates its key components. It also provides a rough classification for euthanasia.Part II: development status of euthanasia in China and other countries. This part targets to understand the current development status of euthanasia in both China and other countries, so that we can treat euthanasia more subjectively.Part III: viewpoints and analysis of euthanasia. This part compares and analyzes the various viewpoints on euthanasia. The legal drawbacks of euthanasia in China are analyzed by referring to some examples of legal disputes caused by euthanasia in the past.Part IV: discussions on euthanasia legalization. This part discusses three issues: firstly, the necessity of euthanasia legislation is affirmed; secondly, the legalization of euthanasia in a short timeframe is denied due to the current challenges; finally, some forward looking and recommendations on euthanasia legislation are provided.