Am I allowed to request assisted dying in Norway?
No — assisted dying is illegal in Norway. Both euthanasia and assisting suicide are criminal offences. Killing someone at their own request still counts as homicide: section 276 of the Penal Code allows the sentence to be set lower where the deceased consented, but the consent does not make it lawful — this is where people go wrong. Section 277 of the Penal Code makes it a criminal offence to help someone take their own life, with imprisonment from 8 to 21 years. A "mercy killing" can bring a milder sentence, but it is still homicide. Withdrawing futile life-prolonging treatment and giving palliative care is lawful, by contrast, and does not count as assisted dying, and the patient's right to refuse treatment is protected.
📋 The rules
- Assisted dying is illegal in Norway
- Both euthanasia and assisting suicide are criminal
- Killing on request: the sentence can be reduced (§276)
- Assisting suicide: prison from 8 to 21 years (§277)
- Ending futile treatment is lawful
🔓 Exceptions
- Ending or not starting futile life-prolonging treatment is lawful
- Palliative care that may shorten life as a side effect is lawful
- The patient's right to refuse treatment is protected and distinct from assisted dying
⚠️ Penalties & fines
Helping someone to commit suicide can bring imprisonment from 8 to 21 years under section 277 of the Penal Code, and killing on request is punished as homicide, though it can be mitigated under section 276. The decisive point, and the one people most often misunderstand, is that the consent only affects sentencing — it does not make the act lawful, and a dying person cannot give anyone the right to take their life. The line to what is lawful therefore runs somewhere else entirely: withdrawing futile life-prolonging treatment and giving palliative care is lawful and does not count as assisted dying.
📎 Official sources
❓ Frequently asked
Can I ask for assisted dying?
No. Assisted dying is illegal in Norway, and both euthanasia and assisting suicide are criminal offences. Your own consent does not make the act lawful for the person who carries it out.
Is assisting suicide a criminal offence?
Yes. Section 277 of the Penal Code makes it a criminal offence to help someone take their own life, with imprisonment from 8 to 21 years. The punishment hits the helper, however good the motive was.
What about killing on request?
It still counts as homicide, but the sentence can be set lower under section 276 of the Penal Code where the deceased consented. The consent affects sentencing, not lawfulness.
Can the doctor withdraw treatment?
Yes. Withdrawing or not starting futile life-prolonging treatment is lawful, and so is palliative care that may shorten life as a side effect. This is not assisted dying.
Can I refuse treatment?
Yes. The patient's right to refuse treatment is protected, and that is something entirely different from assisted dying. Declining treatment is a right you have, not an act anyone is punished for.
🔎 Common searches
What people search to land here:
- “can I request assisted dying norway”
- “assisted dying illegal norway”
- “assisting suicide penal code 277”
- “mercy killing penalty”
- “ending treatment lawful”
- “refuse treatment patient”