Euthanasia

Euthanasia is a term derived from the Greek, meaning “the good death.” It has also been interpreted as “mercy killing” which is actually a form of euthanasia, termed “active,” implying a deliberate intervention to end a patient's life when the patient is terminally ill or in unbearable pain. There are, however, other forms of euthanasia. Passive euthanasia indicates withholding treatment that keeps patients alive, allowing them to die. Assisted suicide, recently made prominent through Dr. Jack Kevorkian, occurs when friends, family members, physicians, or others, comply with patients' wishes for assistance in ending their lives. Active euthanasia is illegal, and the right to assisted suicide is strongly debated. Passive euthanasia, however, has long been accepted by society and employed by physicians (Karst, 23-28).

Medical technology has made it possible to maintain or prolong life almost indefinitely through machines which keep the heart beating, the blood circulating, and the lungs functioning, even when there is little or no hope of recovery. These technological advances have given rise to the need to consider the social and ethical implications of such treatment which is generally futile, as well as very expensive. The strong American value of personal autonomy and fear of being involuntarily subjected to a long period of pain and incapacity have generally influenced the tacit acceptance of passive euthanasia and public support of assisted suicide. However, public controversy over the right to die has made euthanasia a legal issue as well. The most prominent legal cases involving euthanasia centered on Karen Quinlan and Nancy Cruzan, both of whom were removed from life support after extended court cases brought by their families against the state (Hosmer, 1455-1463).

Euthanasia is one of the most debated and controversial issues facing the American society. There have been many legislations passed in favor of and against the practice of physician assisted suicide and euthanasia. Most of the proponents of ethanasia and assisted suicide hold the point view that it is legal to encourage terminally ill people to decide for assisted suicide or euthanasia. On the other hand the opponents have more vivid reasons to voice their concerns against the backdrop of euthanasia. They point out two valid reasons - one from the social point of view and other from the religious point of view.

In an extended sense, the sick individual in question can be a human or a non-human animal; but the controversy about euthanasia typically focuses on euthanizing humans. It should be noted that euthanasia is not the same as, nor does it include, assisted suicide. In the latter, the patient ends his or her own death by means of some medication prescribed by a physician or of some other procedure set in motion by the patient. In euthanasia, someone other than the patient sets the procedure in motion (Baird & Rosenbaum, 54-61). Various distinctions have been drawn in dealing with problems of euthanasia. Notable among them is the active-passive euthanasia distinction. Active euthanasia is taking steps to end a sick individual's - typically a patient's - life, ...