Euthanasia: Justifiable Murder? This essay gives my views and others views on the idea of euthanasia/assisted suicide.

Euthanasia is a method of ending life, which is not legal in some places, but has still been done all over the world, most notoriously by Dr. Kervorkian in the United States. According to Encarta, "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" (Encarta). Euthanasia is Greek for good death. "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" (Encarta). Euthanasia is a peaceful way of putting a patient with intolerable and suffering pain to rest with ease.

Legality of Euthanasia throughout the world

photo of controversial and historic billboard made...

Euthanasia machine invented by Dr. Philip Nitschke...

Euthanasia is not legal in the United States because it is considered to be just like suicide, and many people bring up the issue of ethical values and how it would disagree with the values of many people around the United States. "Euthanasia became morally and ethically abhorrent and viewed as a violation of God's gift of life. Following traditional religious principles, Western laws have generally treated the act of assisting someone in dying as a form of punishable homicide" (Encarta). Christians, for example, are one of the strongest opponents of making euthanasia legal. Advocates of patients' right to die, voiced praise for the vote, but many Christian groups and others condemned it, led by the Vatican, which is said the law 'violates human dignity.'

Euthanasia has been practice for many years now and done countless times. Euthanasia is not legal but that fact is overlooked in so many cases. Doctors find ways around euthanasia not being legal or just do not mention anything about it in the death papers. Many doctors are pushed by insurance companies to use euthanasia to save money.