CRIMINALIZATION OF EUTHANASIA IN NIGERIA AND ITS ETHICAL IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTHCARE PRACTICE
Keywords:
bioethics, euthanasia, criminalization, Nigeria, ethical implications, healthcare practice, palliativeAbstract
The criminalisation of euthanasia in Nigeria reflects a complex interplay of colonial legal inheritance, deeply entrenched religious and cultural values emphasising the sanctity of life, and constitutional protections for the right to life under Section 33 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). This article examines how Nigeria’s penal laws, the Criminal Code Act (applicable in the South) and the Penal Code (in the North), treat euthanasia and assisted suicide as forms of unlawful killing or murder, with consent offering no defense and penalties ranging from life imprisonment to death penalty. While passive euthanasia has seen limited judicial accommodation in cases like Medical and Dental Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal v. Okonkwo (2001), where competent patients may refuse life-sustaining treatment on religious grounds, active euthanasia remains strictly prohibited. Drawing on the works of Nigerian scholars such as Ayantayo and others, the study explores the ethical tensions this legal stance creates for healthcare practitioners, who must navigate the Hippocratic Oath’s imperative to preserve life against patients’ demands for autonomy and relief from unbearable suffering amid resource constraints, poverty, and inadequate palliative care. The analysis reveals that criminalisation upholds societal values of human dignity and communal responsibility but imposes significant ethical burdens on physicians, including moral distress, fear of prosecution, and potential underground practices. By integrating doctrinal legal analysis with bioethical principles and African perspectives on life and death, this article argues that while outright legalization risks a slippery slope in Nigeria’s socio-economic context, the current framework demands enhanced palliative care infrastructure and clearer guidelines to mitigate ethical dilemmas in clinical practice. Ultimately, the criminalisation of euthanasia underscores Nigeria’s commitment to the inviolability of life but calls for balanced reforms to align legal rigidity with compassionate healthcare realities.References
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