オーストラリアで安楽死法が成立 ― euthanasia

オーストラリアのビクトリア州で、安楽死を合法とする法案が議会で可決され、同国初のケースとなりました。


Victoria has become the first state in the country to legalise assisted dying for the terminally ill, with MPs voting to give patients the right to request a lethal drug to end their lives from mid-2019.

After more than 100 hours of debate across both houses of Parliament and two demanding all-night sittings, Lower House MPs ratified the Andrews Government's amended bills.

The bill will now go to the Governor for royal assent.

Premier Daniel Andrews, who came to support euthanasia after the death of his father last year, paid tribute to colleagues, including Health Minister Jill Hennessy, for their work on the bill.

"I'm proud today that we have put compassion right at the centre of our parliamentary and our political process," he said.
(Jean Edwards. Euthanasia: Victoria becomes the first Australian state to legalise voluntary assisted dying. ABC News. November 29, 2017.)


これにより、末期症状にある患者が希望すれば安楽死するための薬剤投与を受けることができるとされています。

さて、記事中では"assisted dying"という表現が使われていますが、安楽死を指す英語としては、


euthanasia


で、これはギリシャ語で死を意味するthanatosに、良い（good）を意味する接頭辞euが付いたものです。