Euthanasia

Euthanasia

Euthanasia is the act or practice of ending the life of an individual suffering from a terminal illness or an incurable condition upon their consent. There are two main types of euthanasia, which are passive and active. Passive euthanasia involves the patient's refusal of medical assistance, which ultimately will lead to there death. This form is of euthanasia is upheld by the Supreme Court with certain restrictions. Active euthanasia involves the assistance of another individual, namely a physician. The legality of the active type is left up to the individual state courts. The active type is the issue under much debate at this time. There are currently 31 states that have criminalized active euthanasia. Illinois is a state that has even recently strengthened the laws against active euthanasia.

A term like euthanasia can mean many different things to many different people. One part that is universal is that the death is intentional. Another point that brings about much of the argument about the issue is whether a person is truly terminally ill. The major reason euthanasia can have so many different meanings is that there must be consent from the individual who will be relieved of life. This can create a broad spectrum of views since often people in the situation of choosing between life and death are not considered fully mentally stable or competent. From this it can be seen that even if euthanasia were legal, who would be allowed to take part would still create parameters that guidelines can not be set up for, due to the diversity of every individual's situations.

Euthanasia is a moral question. In the United States church and state are separate. This decision can not be made based on western religious beliefs pertaining to the value of ones own life. Many past societies have welcomed or even expected this form of death. This pertains mainly to many Asian