Taking the Right to Die Seriously.

Area of Science:

• Philosophy of Law
• Bioethics
• Moral Philosophy

Background:

• Discussions on the right to die and assisted dying often conflate distinct normative concepts.
• A clear analysis of the legal and moral incidents of the right to die is needed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To apply Hohfeldian analysis to the right to die, distinguishing key incidents.
• To clarify debates surrounding assisted dying by separating licence, claim-right, normative power, and positive claim-right.
• To establish a normative and institutional framework for the right to die.

Main Methods:

• Hohfeldian legal and moral analysis.
• Distinguishing and analyzing four key incidents: licence, negative claim-right, normative power, and positive claim-right.
• Mapping objections to assisted dying onto these incidents.

Main Results:

• Familiar objections to assisted dying often target duties of assistance, not the permission to die or the claim against interference.
• A universal moral licence to die is defended.
• A negative claim-right against unjustified interference is defended when conditions like competence and voluntariness are met.

Conclusions:

• The right to die primarily entails a moral licence and a claim-right against interference.
• Institutional conclusions support a right to request assisted dying, assessed publicly and routed to willing providers.
• Separating validity review from provision models can mitigate coercion and conflict while ensuring access.