Practice of Euthanasia & Mercy Killing in Russia and Japan

As previously noted, the majority of people who have opted to undergo physician assisted suicide in the state of Oregon have been of Caucasian decent. Following the Caucasian population, the next most common racial group to undergo this procedure are those of Asian descent, who have accounted for 1.3% of all patients who have chosen to end their lives with the help of a medical professional (Oregon Health Authority, 2011). Statistically, individuals of Asian descent make up a mere 3.7% of the population of the state of Oregon, indicating a discrepancy of only 2.4% when compared to the entire population pool where physician assisted suicide is concerned (U.S. Census Bureau, 2012). This is not a very large difference, and one might theorize that whatever religious or cultural factors that limited the use of physician assisted suicide in Hispanic ethnic groups, offer no such constraints for those of Asian descent. In a previous blog the issue of all suicide, from a Roman Catholic perspective, was examined. The conclusion was reached that within the American Hispanic community physician assisted suicide was rejected on moral grounds. Perhaps the higher rate of Asian Americans opting for this procedure indicates a different religious or moral perspective. To understand whether or not this is the case it becomes necessary to look at how this procedure is viewed in Asian countries, and whether these views might be carried over into Asian American culture.