Assisted suicide and euthanasia: arguing for a distinction

In this essay, I will try to analyze the problems of assisted suicide and euthanasia by using the Joel Feinberg’s analysis of the so-called ‘right to life’ and the Wesley Hohfeld’s legal terminology. Through Feinberg’s analysis I will trace a conceptual and normative distinction between assisted suicide and euthanasia; through the Wesley Hohfeld’s legal terminology I will develop this distinction to show where the distinction precisely arises. My conclusion will be that the problem of permissibility of assisted suicide is conceptually and normatively different from the problem of permissibility of euthanasia.