The Ethical Concept Of Euthanasia

The term euthanasia was originally coined to mean “good death,” this today can be looked at as the understanding of a death without pain and suffering. Euthanasia calls on the ethical principles of beneficence which is the duty of alleviating suffering, and non-maleficence which is the duty to prevent or avoid harm. Just like these two terms can be interpreted to fit specific needs; the term and understanding of euthanasia can be coined to do the same. The most recent term that is passed around for euthanasia is mercy killing. Euthanasia is the process of assisted suicide to that of someone who is in too much pain, or medically deteriorated beyond fix. The Pro-Life Alliance defines it as: 'Any action or omission intended to end the life of a patient on the grounds that his or her life is not worth living’ (Glossland, 2012.) The

Although physician-assisted suicide is legal in some states, euthanasia is illegal throughout the United States. There are three classifications of euthanasia. One is passive euthanasia, which is the withdrawal of medical treatment with the intention to hasten an ill person’s death. Another is physician-assisted suicide, which involve a doctor knowingly and intentionally providing a person with the knowledge or means to commit suicide. This can include counseling about, prescribing, or supplying lethal doses of drugs. The last kind of euthanasia is active euthanasia or the intentional act of causing death of a patient experiencing great suffering. Another controversial piece to euthanasia is non-voluntary euthanasia. Most people, who are candidates for lack of a better phrase, are either in a coma, too young, senile, cognitively impaired, brain damaged or mentally disturbed. Euthanasia comes down to really what the medical definition of death is. According to Robert M. Vetch from the Yale University Press