Assistance in dying: Conditions for international comparison

Area of Science:

• Social Sciences
• Humanities
• Death Studies

Background:

• Assistance in dying (AID) regimes vary globally.
• International comparisons of AID are complex.
• Previous literature has explored AID comparisons with varying methodologies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To interrogate conditions for international comparisons of AID regimes.
• To provide comparative social sciences and humanities perspectives on AID.
• To identify key factors for successful cross-national AID research.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of comparative social sciences and humanities perspectives.
• Review of existing literature on AID comparisons.
• Synthesis of findings from a 2018 symposium in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Main Results:

• The special issue stems from a 2018 symposium on AID comparisons.
• Exploration of how AID regimes have been compared in scholarly literature.
• Identification of critical conditions for conducting international AID comparisons.

Conclusions:

• Comparative analysis of AID requires careful consideration of specific conditions.
• This issue provides a framework for future international research on AID.
• Understanding global AID practices necessitates interdisciplinary approaches.