When A Person Commits An Act Of Euthanasia, He/she Brings About The De

When a person commits an act of euthanasia, he/she brings about the death of another person because he/she believes that the latter's present existence is so bad that he/she would be better off dead. The word euthanasia originated from the Greek language: eu means"good" and thanatos means "death". The meaning of euthanasia is "the intentional termination of life by another at the explicit request of the person who dies" (Religious Tolerance). However, euthanasia has many different meanings, which tends to create confusion. It is important to differentiate between the various terms used in discussing euthanasia. Passive Euthanasia refers to removing some form of life support which allows nature to take its course. Forms of life support include: removing life support machines, stopping medical procedures and medications, stopping food and water, or not delivering cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Active Euthanasia refers to causing the death of a person through a direct action, in response to a request from the person. Physician Assisted Suicide refers to a physician supplying information and/or the means of committing suicide to a person, so that he/she can easily end his/her own life. This may also be referred to as voluntary passive euthanasia. Involuntary Euthanasia refers to the killing of a person in opposition to their wishes. It is basically a form of murder (Religious Tolerance, 2-3). Euthanasia has been accepted both legally and morally during the times of ancient societies. For example, the Romans and the Greeks both believed that "dying decently and rationally mattered immensely" (Hamel, 20). The Greeks and Romans were sympathetic to active voluntary euthanasia provided that the acts were done for the right reasons, such as, to end the suffering of a terminal illness. As a result "of this moral acceptance of active voluntary euthanasia under certain circumstances, Greek and Roman physicians typically did not feel that they had to prolong human life" (Hamel, 19). The Greeks and Romans believed that it was important to die a "good death", which refers to a clear and calm psychological state of mind (Hamel, 16). Therefore, "it was the physicians role to support the patient in the dying process and to help ensure for him or her a good death" (Hamel, 20). According to ancient societies, euthanasia was an approved custom. But, "with the rise of organized religion, euthanasia became morally and ethically abhorrent" (Microsoft). The religions of Christians and Jews both hold human life sacred and consider any form of euthanasia as an act of murder. "According to Jewish law, a dying man is regarded as a living person in all respects. Active euthanasia is considered murder" (Kohl, 6). To Christians, "only God had the right to give and take life, active euthanasia was viewed as an illicit exercise of divine prerogative" (Hamel, 20). According to traditional Christian beliefs documented by Thomas Aquinas, all forms of suicide and/or euthanasia were condemned for the following reasons: "1) it violates one's natural desire to live, 2) it harms other people, 3) life is the gift of God and is thus only to be taken by God" (Religious Tolerance, 3). But despite strong religious beliefs, euthanasia tends to "occur in all societies, including those in which it is held immoral" (Microsoft). The issue of euthanasia has been a hotly debated topic of various religious and political groups. The main question posed by each group is whether or not a person should be given the option to request assistance in dying. Advocates of voluntary euthanasia contend that if a person is: 1) suffering from a terminal illness, 2)unlikely to benefit from the discovery of a cure for that illness, 3) suffering intolerable pain as a result of the illness 4) has an enduring and rational wish to die, and 5) unable to commit suicide without assistance, then there should be legal and medical provision to enable him/her to be allowed or assisted to die (Overberg). Ultimately, euthanasia is a question of choice, empowering people to have control over their own bodies. But, the choice is only to be given to an elite group of terminally ill, dying patients. Another growing debate is the legalization of active voluntary euthanasia and assisted suicide. Organizations supporting the legalization of voluntary euthanasia were established in Britain in 1935 and the Unites States in 1938. They have gained some support, but so far neither nation has achieved its goal. In the last few decades, Western laws against passive and voluntary euthanasia have slowly been eased, although serious moral and legal questions still remain (Overberg, 117 - 119). Legislators are manly concerned with what is called the "slippery slope" issue. "Slippery slope" is a term used to describe what