Editing Euthanasia (section)

==Classification==
Euthanasia may be classified into three types, according to whether a person gives [[informed consent]]: voluntary, non-voluntary and involuntary.<ref>{{Cite journal|author=Perrett RW |title=Buddhism, euthanasia and the sanctity of life |journal=J Med Ethics |volume=22 |issue=5 |pages=309–13 |date=October 1996 |pmid=8910785 |pmc=1377066 |doi=10.1136/jme.22.5.309}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|author=LaFollette, Hugh |title=Ethics in practice: an anthology |publisher=Blackwell |location=Oxford |year=2002 |pages=25–26 |isbn=978-0-631-22834-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o5peQpgSTTIC&pg=RA1-PA3-IA1}}</ref>

There is a debate within the medical and bioethics literature about whether or not the non-voluntary (and by extension, involuntary) killing of patients can be regarded as euthanasia, irrespective of intent or the patient's circumstances. In the definitions offered by Beauchamp and Davidson and, later, by Wreen, consent on the part of the patient was not considered one of their criteria, although it may have been required to justify euthanasia.<ref name="BeauchampDavidson1979"/><ref name="Wreen1988">{{Cite journal| last = Wreen | first = Michael | year = 1988 | title = The Definition of Euthanasia | jstor = 2108012 | journal = [[Philosophy and Phenomenological Research]] | volume = 48 | pages = 637–53 | doi = 10.2307/2108012 | issue = 4| pmid = 11652547 }}</ref> However, others see consent as essential.

===Voluntary euthanasia===
{{see also|Right to die}}
[[Voluntary euthanasia]] is conducted with the consent of the patient. Active voluntary euthanasia is legal in Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Passive voluntary euthanasia is legal throughout the US per ''[[Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health]]''. When the patient brings about their own death with the assistance of a physician, the term [[assisted suicide]] is often used instead. Assisted suicide is legal in Switzerland and the U.S. states of California, Oregon, Washington, Montana and Vermont.

===Non-voluntary euthanasia===
[[Non-voluntary euthanasia]] is conducted when the consent of the patient is unavailable. Examples include [[child euthanasia]], which is illegal worldwide but decriminalised under certain specific circumstances in the Netherlands under the [[Groningen Protocol]]. Passive forms of non-voluntary euthanasia (i.e. withholding treatment) are legal in a number of countries under specified conditions.

===Involuntary euthanasia===
[[Involuntary euthanasia]] is conducted against the will of the patient.

===Passive and active euthanasia===
Voluntary, non-voluntary and involuntary types can be further divided into passive or active variants.<ref>{{Cite journal |doi=10.1056/NEJM197501092920206 |author=Rachels J |s2cid=46465710 |title=Active and passive euthanasia |journal=N. Engl. J. Med. |volume=292 |issue=2 |pages=78–80 |date=January 1975 |pmid=1109443}}</ref> Passive euthanasia entails the withholding treatment necessary for the continuance of life.<ref name="Harris-2001"/> Active euthanasia entails the use of lethal substances or forces (such as administering a [[lethal injection]]), and is more controversial. While some authors consider these terms to be misleading and unhelpful, they are nonetheless commonly used. In some cases, such as the administration of increasingly necessary, but toxic doses of [[Analgesic|painkillers]], there is a debate whether or not to regard the practice as active or passive.<ref name="Harris-2001"/>