This book is about the ‘right to die’, a definition encapsulating – aside from the individual claim of those advocating for the legalisation of passive euthanasia and/or physician-assisted suicide – many intricate issues, i.e. the taboo of death and the incapability of our civilization to cope with it; the role of public institutions to take care of those less autonomous and self-sufficient in our societies; the relation between public discourse, political decision-making and the law.This is a book of legal doctrine, primarily intended for legal scholars, but deeply indebted to philosophers, political scientists, sociologist, physicians, economists, novelists whose contributions were crucial to improve my approach to the complexity of ‘right to die’ issues.