Distinguish between palliative care and euthanasia/physician-assisted suicide.

• A. Palliative care ends life.
• B. Palliative care aims to relieve suffering without shortening life; euthanasia/physician-assisted suicide intentionally ends life and is illegal in many jurisdictions.
• C. They are the same.
• D. Euthanasia is legal everywhere.

Answer: (B)

The key distinction is intent. Palliative care focuses on relieving suffering and improving quality of life for patients with serious illness, without trying to shorten life. Its purpose is comfort and support, and it can be provided alongside curative or life-prolonging treatments. In contrast, euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide involve an intentional act to end a patient’s life; the primary goal is to cause death, and the legality of such acts varies and is illegal in many places. So palliative care aims to ease pain and distress without purposefully ending life, while euthanasia/assisted suicide centers on the intentional ending of life.