ASSISTED SUICIDE IN BRAZIL: Between the Right to Individual Autonomy and the Collectivization of Life

• Grant number: 24/11217-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: May 01, 2025
• End date: April 30, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Law - Public Law
• Principal Investigator: Jéssica Raquel Sponchiado
• Grantee: Adriana Rodrigues de Menezes
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Direito (FD). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Suicide is intertwined with the right to life as set out in art. 5th of the CRFB, translated into the Brazilian legal system as overprotection of this legal asset, then, life becomes vehemently protected by Criminal Law. Here, the amendment to art. 122 of the CPB by Law No. 13,968/2019, which transforms suicide assistance into a formal type. In the work, the object will be medical assistance for suicide, made impossible by the extent of the penalty in the article above of the CPB. Such criminal protection will be analyzed based on individual autonomy, both of the patient and the doctor, arising from the dignity of the human person in the Brazilian Constitution as one of the fundamental principles of the Republic. Furthermore, the hypothesis of criminal paternalism in this criminalization will be verified, given a situation in which the subject is conscious and capable of self-determination in relation to assisted suicide in situations of serious or incurable illness. The aim is to establish whether the origin of the typification of conduct is purely moral or whether there is an idea of collectivization of life as a legal good. Furthermore, it will be analyzed whether medical assistance for suicide can be a fatalistic type of suicide - considering Durkheim's work. The objective is, above all, to evaluate the legitimacy of the State in imposing the criminalization of medical assistance for suicide, hindering the ability of a capable and conscious subject to self-determination, observing the right to individual autonomy. The work employ a hypothetical-deductive method, in addition to the dialectical method, supported by comparative method; It will be a qualitative, exploratory research, with bibliographic and documentary analysis (comparative legislation). It is expected to contribute to the dogmatic discussion about the legitimacy of punishing medical aid for suicide, considering the individual autonomy of the subjects involved.