Q: why is pyisican assisted suicide illigeal
its for a project and i dont really know why it is illegal can you help me?
A: It goes back to English law (which the US adopted). There are two concepts: (1) under old (midlevel) English law suicide was illegal [this prevented a suicide victim from being buried at the local parish graveyard] and (2) under English law (which is still true and generally still true in most of the US) it is a crime to intentionally kill a person (i.e. murder or manslaughter). Note: both of these ideas originate from the Canon law (read: the Bible). The US and the UK have dropped the criminalizing of suicide (note: some state still classify suicide as a crime, but NO state enforces these laws). What has remained is that it is illegal to intentionally harm or kill another person (even with consent). States like Oregon have amended (changed) their laws so that under the right conditions (usually a terminal illness) a doctor/healthcare professional is exempted from any criminal charges related to intentionally killing a person. Also note, a non-medical person cannot assist another person with suicide (even in Oregon) unless there is a doctor/healthcare professional providing oversight.
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