Euthanasia
Introduction Euthanasia is defined as the intentional killing by act of omission of a dependent human being for his or her alleged benefit. ... The difference between euthanasia and assisted suicide is whether or not the patient assisted the physician in the act, like by swallowing a pill or pushing the button to receive a lethal injection. Euthanasia and assisted suicide have been heated topics for years for a good portion of the world. ... Beginning in 1935 in Great Britain and in the United States in 1938, organizations supporting the legalization of voluntary euthanasia have gained public support, but so far have been unable to achieve their goal in either nation. Laws against euthanasia and assisted suicide are in place to prevent abuse and to protect people from unscrupulous doctors and others. ... Activists claim that laws against euthanasia and assisted suicide are government mandated suffering. ... Other activists seek to have euthanasia and assisted suicide considered “medical treatment.” If one accepts the notion that euthanasia or assisted suicide is a good medical treatment, then it would not only be inappropriate, but discriminatory, to deny this good treatment to a person solely because that person it too young or mentally incapacitated to request it. As pressures to contain costs continue to arise, the issue of using euthanasia and assisted suicide as a means of cost containment has become all too common. ... Legalized euthanasia and assisted suicide raises the potential for a profoundly dangerous situation in which choice of assisted suicide or euthanasia is the only affordable option for some people. ... Religious beliefs have remained a major implication on those who oppose legalizing euthanasia and assisted suicide. Right-to-die leaders have attempted for a long time to make it seem that anyone against euthanasia or assisted suicide is trying to impose his or her religion on others.