The issue of euthanasia divides public opinion, particularly among lawyers and health experts. However, even opponents agree that introducing a lawful process for euthanasia can prevent well-intentioned parents and spouses of people with terminal illnesses from ending up in court.
In October, 38-year-old farmer Jia Zhengwu was tried for intentional homicide after he pushed his wife, who was paralyzed with rheumatism, off a riverbank in Lanzhou, capital of Gansu province.
Zhang Xiaojun, also 38, died on April 21, 2011. According to an interview Jia did with China Central Television, she had repeatedly asked him to end her life. "That day (in April), she cried and said she will never be cured, even after we had spent all our money," he said.
The court that heard the case has yet to hand down a verdict.
Jia could well receive a similar punishment to Deng Mingjian, a migrant worker in Guangzhou who in May was sentenced to three years in prison, suspended for four years, after he admitted assisting in his mother's suicide.
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