[The Role of the Medical Profession in Euthanasia, Particularly in the Prescription of Sodium Pentobarbital].

The Role of the Medical Profession in Euthanasia, Particularly in the Prescription of Sodium Pentobarbital Abstract. The delivery of sodium pentobarbital as part of assisted suicide requires a doctor's prescription. This prescription must meet the legal and professional requirements as well as the corresponding ethical guidelines. Current legal practice restrictively permits suicide assistance in this form, especially in the case of patients who are willing to die and whose death is foreseeable. The new guidelines of the SAMS (2018) extend the possibility to patients who suffer intolerably due to disease symptoms and/or functional restrictions. The prescription of NaP in other cases or in violation of the duty of care provided for in the guidelines may result in supervisory, professional and criminal consequences. Suicide assistance itself is a decision of conscience, not a medical task, which is why there is no entitlement to it.