Abstract
Suicide is amajor global public health problem, but rarely is the subject viewed as a human right. With the sole exception of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), no international authority has taken a strong position on whether a human right to suicide exists. Even that court's jurisprudence goes no further than intimating that such a right falls within the scope of the human right to private life. This essay tackles the question of whether there is a human right to suicide under existing international law and, if so, what are its sources and limits. It concludes with an analysis of what obligations, both negative and positive, a right to suicide would impose on the state.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 641-670 |
Number of pages | 30 |
Journal | Human Rights Law Review |
Volume | 21 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jul 1 2021 |
Keywords
- assisted suicide
- human rights
- right to life
- right to privacy
- suicide
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Sociology and Political Science
- Law