Which description best fits Passive Euthanasia?

• A. Providing aggressive treatment to extend life
• B. Administering a lethal medication
• C. Withholding or withdrawing life-prolonging treatment
• D. Performing euthanasia in a hospital

Answer: (C)

Passive euthanasia involves letting death occur by withholding or withdrawing life-prolonging treatment. It means not starting or continuing interventions that would extend life, such as a do-not-resuscitate order, turning off a ventilator, or stopping artificial nutrition or hydration. The key idea is that no one directly causes the death with a lethal action; death occurs because the body’s disease progresses without the medical measures that would keep it going.

This description fits because it contrasts with active euthanasia, where a lethal action is taken to cause death, and with providing aggressive treatment, which aims to prolong life. It also differs from performing euthanasia in a hospital, which would involve direct interventions to end life. A common, practical example is choosing not to resuscitate a patient or deciding to discontinue life-sustaining support when recovery is unlikely and continuing care would merely prolong the dying process.