Doctor’s Criminal Liability and Medically Assisted Death – The Portuguese Case
In: European Journal of Health LawSearch for other papers by Vera Lúcia Raposo in
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Abstract
Recently, the Portuguese Parliament discussed four proposals aimed at allowing some forms of medically assisted death. However, all of them were rejected by the majority. Therefore, doctors who in some way accelerate a patient’s death risk being convicted of the crime of homicide. Portuguese law provides some legal mechanisms that can exempt a doctor from criminal liability, such as causes excluding the conduct’s wrongfulness, and causes excluding the doctor’s culpability. Other elements to take into consideration are a proper interpretation of homicide crimes, thereby excluding conducts without the intent to kill; the relevance of patient consent; and the rejection of medical futility. This article explains how a doctor may not be held criminally accountable for medically assisted death, even in restrictive jurisdictions such as the Portuguese one.
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| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 1243 | 187 | 7 |
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Doctor’s Criminal Liability and Medically Assisted Death – The Portuguese Case
In: European Journal of Health LawSearch for other papers by Vera Lúcia Raposo in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Abstract
Recently, the Portuguese Parliament discussed four proposals aimed at allowing some forms of medically assisted death. However, all of them were rejected by the majority. Therefore, doctors who in some way accelerate a patient’s death risk being convicted of the crime of homicide. Portuguese law provides some legal mechanisms that can exempt a doctor from criminal liability, such as causes excluding the conduct’s wrongfulness, and causes excluding the doctor’s culpability. Other elements to take into consideration are a proper interpretation of homicide crimes, thereby excluding conducts without the intent to kill; the relevance of patient consent; and the rejection of medical futility. This article explains how a doctor may not be held criminally accountable for medically assisted death, even in restrictive jurisdictions such as the Portuguese one.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 1243 | 187 | 7 |
| Full Text Views | 60 | 4 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 88 | 10 | 0 |
