There is an ethical difference between euthanasia and switching off life support or stopping futile medical treatment.

When life support is switched off or life-prolonging medical treatment is stopped, the person dies from their underlying illness, from natural causes. When euthanasia is performed, a person dies from a lethal overdose deliberately given to cause death.

To legalise voluntary euthanasia would mean making it legal for a doctor or nurse practitioner to intentionally end a patient’s life. That would be a shift in medical ethics that has been established for thousands of years.

For more explanation, see Dr David Richmond’s article and diagrams.