Abstract

In most legal systems, abetting suicide is a crime and is punished in absolute terms. This prohibition casts a number of issues related to (i) the cruel consequences for the severely ill people, (ii) a discrimination among sick persons according to their illness and physical condition, (iii) the inconsistency of the total ban with the principles of the constitutional state. The article deals with these issues in a comparative perspective and proposes the opening of a debate in order to effectively tackle them.