[Active euthanasia in Colombia and assisted suicide in California].

The institution of active euthanasia has been legal in Colombia since 2015. In California, the regulation on physician-assisted suicide will come into effect on January 1, 2016. The legal institution of active euthanasia is not accepted under the law of the United States of America, however, physician-assisted suicide is accepted in an increasing number of member states. The related regulation in Oregon is imitated in other member states. In South America, Colombia is not the first country to legalize active euthanasia: active euthanasia has been legal in Uruguay since 1932. The North American legal tradition markedly differs from the South American one and both are incompatible with the Central European rule of law. In Hungary and in most European Union countries, solely the passive form of euthanasia is legal. In the Benelux countries, the active form of euthanasia is legal because the supranational law of the European Union does not prohibit it. Notwithstanding, European Union law does not prescribe legalization of either the active form of euthanasia, or the physician-assisted suicide.