Passive euthanasia means that medical interventions are withheld or withdrawn, allowing a disease process to continue its natural course leading to death. Competent patients have a moral right to seek a good death by refusing treatment if that is their wish. Furthermore, physicians have a moral obligation to honor the wishes of their competent patients or the authentic proxy of their incompetent patients, with respect to withholding and withdrawing undesired medical interventions. Active euthanasia means that an intervention by someone other than the patient is intended directly and immediately to bring about the death of a suffering patient at the patient's request. However, providing treatment or medication with the intention of easing the pain of a dying patient is acceptable treatment and not active euthanasia, even though such treatment or medication may foreseeably hasten the moment of death.
Suicide means that one intentionally terminated one's life.
Refusing a treatment which may delay the moment of death is not suicide. However, intentionally taking a lethal dose of medication even when fatally ill would be suicide. A physician who intentionally provides a lethal dose of medication for the purpose of aiding a patient to commit suicide is assisting suicide. This differs from providing an adequate dose of medication for the purpose of pain relief, even though it may foreseeably hasten death. V. Physicians share with all society a duty to obey the law which currently prohibits both active euthanasia and assisting suicide.