The Controversy Surrounding Euthanasia In Ancient Greece

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Throughout history, euthanasia has always had a place in law; starting as far back as the Axial Age in Ancient Greece. Although the views and laws surrounding euthanasia have changed time and time again, the fact remains that where there is sickness, there is death and some individuals will choose to end their life instead of suffer. In Ancient Greece, euthanasia was seen as acceptable by some and unacceptable by others. The government in Athens kept a supply of poison for any individual who obtained official permission to commit suicide. In Rome, suicide was punishable if deemed irrational. Socrates and Plato valued a man’s ability to reason: Plato believed that suicide was acceptable for people that fell into four categories: 1) Those

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