Centre for Health Governance, Law and Ethics, Sydney Law School, University of Sydney, NSW 2006 Australia.
J Med Ethics. 2011 Jan;37(1):34-9. doi: 10.1136/jme.2010.037564. Epub 2010 Nov 21.
The mental competence of people requesting aid-in-dying is a key issue for the how the law responds to cases of assisted suicide. A number of cases from around the common law world have highlighted the importance of competence in determining whether assistants should be prosecuted, and what they will be prosecuted for. Nevertheless, the law remains uncertain about how competence should be tested in these cases. This article proposes a test of competence that is based on the existing common law but which is tailored to cases of assisted suicide. The test will help doctors, other health professionals and lawyers determine whether the suicidal person was able to competently request assistance. Such knowledge will help to reduce some of the current uncertainty about criminal liability in cases of assisted suicide.
在协助自杀的法律回应中，请求协助死亡的人的精神能力是一个关键问题。来自普通法世界的一些案例强调了在确定是否应起诉协助者以及应起诉他们什么方面，能力的重要性。然而，法律在这些案件中如何测试能力仍然不确定。本文提出了一种基于现有普通法但针对协助自杀案件的能力测试。该测试将帮助医生、其他卫生专业人员和律师确定自杀者是否能够有能力请求协助。这种知识将有助于减少目前在协助自杀案件中的刑事责任方面的一些不确定性。
