Term paper on Euthanasia

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Euthanasia
Alex Rourke Rourke 1 Mrs. E. Teague English 110 1 May 1999 Euthanasia The origin of the word 'euthanasia' comes from the Greek -- eu, "good," and thanatos, "death," meaning literally, "good death." But the word "euthanasia" has acquired a more complex meaning in modern times. It is generally ta

Euthanasia
Euthanasia In recent years, Euthanasia has become a very heated debate. It is a Greek word that means "easy death" but the controversy surrounding it is just the opposite. Whether the issue is refusing prolonged life mechanically, assisting suicide, or active euthanasia, we eventually confront our

Euthanasia

Euthanasia is the practice of mercifully ending a person’s life in order to release the person from an incurable disease, intolerable suffering, or undignified death. The word euthanasia derives from the Greek for “good death” and originally referred to intentional mercy killing. When medical advances made prolonging the lives of dying or comatose patients possible, the term euthanasia was also applied to a lack of action to prevent death.

There are three “practices” that are involved with Euthanasia. The first one is voluntary (or “active) euthanasia, where the person asks to be killed. This involves painlessly putting individuals to death for merciful reasons, as when a doctor administers a lethal does of medication to a patient.

The second “practice” that is involved with Euthanasia is involuntary. This concerns the killing of persons who cannot express their wishes, because of immaturity (such as a newborn infant), mental retardation or coma. Here is it decided by others that that person would be better off dead.

The third “practice” is passive euthanasia, where the patient is killed by withdrawing some kind of support and letting nature takes its course. For example this would include removing life support or stopping medical procedures. It also includes not delivering CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) and allowing a person, whose heart has stopped, to die.

Many people fail to differentiate between euthanasia and assisted suicide. In euthanasia, one person does something that directly kills another. For example, a doctor gives a lethal injection to a patient. In assisted suicide, a non-suicidal person knowingly and intentionally provides the means or acts in some way to help a suicidal person kill himself or herself. For example, a doctor writes a prescription for poison, or someone hooks up a device and than instructs the suicidal person how to use it to kill him or herself.

Euthanasia has been accepted in some forms by various groups or societies throughout history. In ancient Greece and Rome helping others die or putting them to death was considered permissible in some situations. Voluntary euthanasia for the elderly was an approved custom in several ancient societies also. However, as Christianity developed and grew powerful in the West, euthanasia became morally and ethically abhorrent and was viewed as a violation of God’s gift of life. Today most branches of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam condemn active euthanasia, although some permit restricted forms of passive euthanasia.

The first organizations to promote legalization...