In both cases, the patient knowingly chooses a course of action that will lead to her or his death, rather than an alternative course of action that would have led to a longer but burdensome life.
V obou případech se totiž pacient vědomě rozhoduje pro postup, jenž povede k jeho smrti, nikoliv pro jiný postup, jenž by vedl k delšímu, leč tíživějšímu životu.