What is euthanasia？ Basic knowledge, sedation in palliative care, "indirect euthanasia"

[What is euthanasia？ Basic knowledge: Sedation in palliative care]

In the previous article, we explained about passive euthanasia (also known as "death with dignity or peaceful death").

※Click here for the article on passive euthanasia → ★★★★★

Here we will briefly explain indirect euthanasia .

The keywords are palliative care and sedation , which you may have heard of.

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Indirect Euthanasia

(Sedation in palliative care)

First, palliative care

" Pain and discomfort" of people suffering from fatal diseases

While relieving the pain as much as possible with "painkillers and sedatives"

Medical measures to make the final stage of life as comfortable as possible

In a nutshell, it is a "treatment that relieves pain," and palliative care physicians refer to "people who relieve pain."

I will go into more detail about palliative care (such as the WHO definition, current situation and reality) in a separate article, but for now, it's a good idea to remember it roughly like this.

Next, what is indirect euthanasia ?

One of the methods used in palliative care.

The official name is "continuous deep sedation." It is also simply called "sedation," or terminal sedation . Here is a brief explanation.

First, imagine a surgical scene .

The surgeon takes a scalpel and cuts the skin to reach into the internal organs (open surgery).

Of course, there are cases where a scalpel is used on the head, moving the brain and blood vessels.

However, since you are under anesthesia,

You won't wake up in pain

In other words

If you artificially inject a powerful "sleeping pill" into your body,

You can maintain a deep sleep state without feeling any pain

This is possible with modern medical technology.

And " deep sleep" = "a state of not feeling pain" is maintained, and

No moisture or nutrients

If you continue to watch over them, they will eventually die peacefully in a deep sleep without feeling any pain (a.k.a. death from starvation ).

This is "sedation" or "deep, sustained sedation."

No matter how hard medical professionals try, no matter what painkillers they use,

When you can no longer cope with unbearable pain

(It was only when the patient was in such pain that he was screaming "Kill me!")

The patient will be continuously administered a "strong sleeping pill" to maintain a deep sleep and pass away peacefully.

( Only after the patient has been in excruciating pain for a certain period of time will medical professionals discuss the matter and make a final decision.)

鎮静開始の要件　

This "sedation" procedure is approved in Japan as a routine medical procedure .

Some people who have lost a family member to cancer may have received sedation without knowing it.

But think about this now.

Sedation involves administering sedatives to force a patient into a state of sleep, without food or fluids, and essentially leaving them alone .

Moreover, unlike active euthanasia, the conditions are not only loose but lax, and there is no strict screening . The decision is made at the whim of medical professionals.

No matter how much the patient screams "Just kill me!", and even if the family hears the screams, the decision is up to the palliative care doctor, and the patient

Unable to decide the "timing of death,"

"Decision-making" is not permitted.

(This is being taken away by the medical association and the palliative care industry) .

Many terminally ill patients are in a state of confusion and are unable to make decisions.

act of murder

Or in cases where consent is obtained from the patient or their family...

assisted suicide

This can be seen as a response method that assumes death from the start.

That is why, strictly speaking, academically, it is a category of euthanasia, namely

Indirect euthanasia

This is the reason why it is also called " soft euthanasia" or " slow euthanasia."

Digging deeper, we come to the explanation of palliative care that I mentioned at the beginning...

Relieving pain and discomfort while living the final stage of life

Make your stay as comfortable as possible

Roughly speaking, the care provided up until now has deviated from the definition of

" I'm at my wit's end "

This is the last task left after giving up on palliative care.

This explains one category of euthanasia: indirect euthanasia.

As many of you may know, unfortunately, in recent years it has been discovered that indirect euthanasia (continuous deep sedation) and the palliative care industry itself have various vulnerabilities .

These will be explained in a separate article entitled "Palliative Care."

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Click here

※to be decided

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※Supplementary information ①

The palliative care industry is extremely averse to the definition of sedation as (indirect) euthanasia .

They claim, "We did not perform euthanasia. We simply dealt with the patient's pain ," and are blatantly plotting to ban the term "indirect euthanasia" from society.

I understand their feelings. They don't want to be lumped together with "euthanasia," which is often ridiculed as murder or assisted suicide. I understand the desire to believe that they are doing a noble act.

However, because of that,

"I don't want to be sedated if possible."

"My only job is to relieve pain"

As a result, there are currently many palliative care physicians in Japan who do not use sedation (they focus only on pain relief) , and this is also the current state of the Japanese palliative care industry.

※Supplement ②

There are a certain number of people who are opposed to euthanasia who have these kinds of concerns.

However, as you can see from the explanation so far,

"Forced Risk"

The current rate is far higher . In fact, a survey of medical professionals in the Netherlands found that active euthanasia has clearer rules and is more reassuring . Concerns that people will be "forced" to undergo euthanasia are nonsense and irrelevant.

Even now, in end-of-life care where safeguards are lax, it is easy to commit some kind of illegal act through sedation (indirect euthanasia). Again, this is because it can be carried out in a short period of time and there is no strict review like there is for active euthanasia.

In today's world, where faith in "Oisha-sama" is collapsing, it would be reasonable to think that even stricter rules (active euthanasia as an option) are necessary.

We would like to emphasize that it is important to remember that sedation is a type of euthanasia .

In this respect, active euthanasia (compared to indirect euthanasia) has stricter rules and screening than you might think, and most importantly, it places emphasis on the patient's own "decision-making" and "right to self-determination."

In other words, the euthanasia system that is developing overseas is designed to completely eliminate the paternalism that has always been prevalent in Japan.

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remarks

フジテレビ ザ・ノンフィクション

[What my mother decided: A family's record of facing life and death]

(The female X account is here ⇒ @mahomelc )

Mayumi's X account name is Meishii

A documentary about euthanasia (first aired on June 11, 2024), a sequel of which was recently broadcast (November 2, 2025).

It was viewed by a huge number of people, and was streamed on Tver a record number of times.

But why is Mayumi, a woman,

He did not die in Japan

deliberately

Did you go to Switzerland?

Did you know?

She posts a lot of messages on X (formerly Twitter)... no, she writes important messages for everyone. Several members of our association have been communicating with her via direct messages.

She is also the woman who inspired us to start our organization.

"Palliative care and sedation"...After understanding the current situation ,

I hope that you will listen to the words she left behind and think about the significance of the euthanasia system.

That is what we would like our Lip Day (RiP:D) to be like.

「鎮静はよくて安楽死はだめの論理展開がよくわからない」「本人不在の意思決定があり高齢者延命治療と大元は同じ」

「苦しみ抜いた挙げ句の死の前日にようやくとかだと救われません」「（日本の緩和ケアは）矛盾と欺瞞に満ちた世界です」

「（緩和ケア医には）「鎮静は負け」「鎮静なしでコントロールできた俺すごい」的な潜在意識が少なからずある…

「この状況で迎える終末期が怖い」

「苦しみながら死ぬことになるかもしれないが現行は仕方がない。甘んじて受け入れろ」「一定の理解を示した上での時期尚早理論が最も厄介な気がする」

「苦痛に耐えるだけの日々（そして耐えた先にあるのは死）なんて絶望しかない」

「きっとこれが、尊厳を守る、ということかなと思う」「身体の痛みだけでなく心が救われる」

*Video provided by "Mufumufu Channel"

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What is euthanasia? Next we will look at three classifications and the current situation around the world .

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Click here