Suicide legislation

[2] A criminal ordinance issued by Louis XIV in 1670 intended to be far more severe in its "punishment" ritual of an obviously-already-dead body: their corpse was drawn through the streets, face down, and then hung or thrown on a garbage heap.

Bringing to suicide of the victim who is in a material dependence, subordination or another inferiority to the culprit through brutal treatment or systematic humiliation of his/her honor and dignity shall be punishable by imprisonment for a period of 2 to 5 years.

Whoever commits the offense provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article against a minor or a person whose capability to understand the gravity of his or her act or whose ability to control his or her behavior was substantially diminished, shall be punished by imprisonment of one (1) to ten (10) years.

(3) Anyone who commits the act referred to in Paragraph 1 of this Article against a juvenile or a person in the state of substantialy diminished mental capacity, shall be sentenced to two to ten years of imprisonment.

(2) If the crime from item 1 is committed against a juvenile who reached the age of fourteen or against a person who is in a state of decreased mental competence, the offender shall be punished with imprisonment of one to ten years.

(3) Whoever commits the act specified in paragraph 1 of this Article against a juvenile or person in a state of substantially diminished mental capacity, shall be punished with imprisonment from two to ten years.

(5) Whoever cruelly or inhumanely treats another who is in a position of subordination or dependency and due to such treatment the person commits or attempts suicide that may be attributed to negligence of the perpetrator, shall be punished with imprisonment from six months to five years.

(2) The offender shall be liable to a term of imprisonment of three to eight years if he commits the offence referred to in paragraph 1 a) acting in a more serious manner, b) against a protected person, or c) by reason of specific motivation.

(Penalty "not exceeding more than $150 fine or 3 months imprisonment") Australian Capital Territory (ACT) governments had regularly advocated for the right to legalise euthanasia-related schemes between 1997 and 2022, when the federal ban was in practice.

[132] A formal consultation period was opened by the government in February 2023,[133] which culminated in a report endorsing the establishment of a voluntary assisted dying scheme, published on 29 June 2023.

[135][136] Under the legislation, a person would be eligible for voluntary assisted dying if they are aged over 18, seeking it voluntarily with decision-making capability, intolerably suffering an advanced-progressive condition expected to cause death, and lives local to the ACT for at least 12 months or with a significant Canberra connection.

[141] Under the finalised legislation, people will become eligible to begin the process of accessing the scheme if they are at least 18 years old and seeking voluntary assisted dying voluntarily with decision-making capability.

Further, they will have to show that they are intolerably suffering an advanced, progressive condition expected to cause death and that they have been local to the ACT for at least 12 months, or have a significant Canberra connection.

A final request must be made five days later and a review done by the first doctor, who can then apply to the Voluntary Assisted Dying Board to allow access to a substance to end their patient's life.

[165] Following the repeal of the federal ban on territory-based euthanasia legislation, the Northern Territory government announced the formation of a community consulation process "for developing a framework for voluntary assisted dying", submissions for which closed in February 2024.

[167] The process culminated in the release of a report by an independent expert advisory panel, co-chaired by the Hon Vicki O’Halloran AO CVO and Duncan McConnel SC, which recommended a voluntary assisted dying scheme be established in the Northern Territory.

[171] The bill would allow euthanasia, if the patient meets the following criteria:[172] On 16 September 2021, the Queensland Legislative Assembly passed the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2021 with 61 votes in favour and 31 opposed.

[175] In November 2016, the South Australian House of Assembly narrowly rejected a private member's bill which would have legalised a right to request voluntary euthanasia in circumstances where a person is in unbearable pain and suffering from a terminal illness.

[209] Eighty years later, in 1972, Parliament repealed the offence of attempting suicide from the Criminal Code based on the argument that a legal deterrent was unnecessary.

[212] In 1993, the offence of assisted suicide survived a constitutional challenge in the Supreme Court of Canada, in the case of Rodriguez v. British Columbia (Attorney General).

By a 5-4 majority, the Court held that the prohibition on assisted suicide did not infringe s 7 of the Canadian Charter of RIghts and Freedoms, which provides constitutional protection for liberty and security of the person.

Under section 309 of the Penal Code of Malaysia, whoever attempts to commit suicide, and does any act towards the commission of such offence, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with fine or with both.

[232] There are ongoing efforts to decriminalize attempted suicide, although rights groups and non-governmental organisations such as the local chapter of Befrienders note that progress has been slow.

[235] The first reading of a bill to repeal Section 309 of the Penal Code was tabled in Parliament in April 2023, bringing Malaysia one step closer towards decriminalizing attempted suicide.

According to a website created by the Pirate Party of Russia, some pages with suicide jokes have been blacklisted, which may have led to blocking of an IP address of Wikia.

In 2009, the House of Lords ruled that the law concerning the treatment of people who accompanied those who died of assisted suicide was unclear, following Debbie Purdy's case that this lack of clarity was a breach of her human rights.

(In her case, as someone with multiple sclerosis, she wanted to know whether her husband would be prosecuted for accompanying her abroad where she might eventually wish to die of assisted suicide, if her illness progressed).

[255] Subsequently the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service instructed Police Scotland to deal with cases of attempted suicide which come to their notice by means other than arrest, even where an offence such as breach of the peace may have been committed.

The GLSMA made federal funding available for the first time to states, tribes, and colleges across the nation to implement community-based youth and young adult suicide prevention programs.

According to Nadine Strossen, former President of the ACLU, "The idea of government making determinations about how you end your life, forcing you...could be considered cruel and unusual punishment in certain circumstances, and Justice Stevens in a very interesting opinion in a right-to-die [case] raised the analogy.