S Afr Med J. 2014 Feb;104(2):102-3. doi: 10.7196/samj.7405.
Doctors who hasten the termination of the lives of their patients by withholding or withdrawing treatment or prescribing a potentially fatal palliative dose of medication satisfy the elements of intention and causation of a charge of murder against them. However, the courts have held that, for policy reasons based on 'society's legal convictions', such conduct is not unlawful if the patient consented to it or medical treatment would be futile or palliative treatment may hasten death. Doctors are not held liable for murder because society regards their omissions or acts as lawful--not because they did not have the intention in law to kill or did not cause the death of their patients.
医生通过 withholding 或 withdrawing treatment 或 prescribing 潜在致命的姑息性药物剂量来加速患者的生命终结，满足谋杀指控的意图和因果关系要素。然而，法院认为，基于“社会的法律信念”的政策原因，如果患者同意或医疗治疗无效或姑息性治疗可能加速死亡，这种行为不违法。医生不会因谋杀而承担责任，因为社会认为他们的疏忽或行为是合法的——不是因为他们在法律上没有杀人的意图或没有导致患者死亡。
