Euthanasia is still a controversial topic to many people, though it is slowly gaining acceptance, along with physician assisted suicide, particularly for the terminally ill. Oregon is the only state where physician assisted suicide is currently legal, though surveys across the country show that most people are in favor of the procedure. It has been practiced in the Netherlands for over 20 years, and was recently legalized there, and there has been no headlong dash to suicide as opponents predict, nor a wave of killing of unwanted older relatives for their money. The US Supreme Court is clearly opposed to euthanasia and physician assisted suicide, which is a blow to all those who are suffering through terminal illness and must wait it out to the bitter end.
The word "euthanasia" is Greek for "good death" and euthanasia is the practice of killing people or animals painlessly or with minimal pain for merciful reasons, usually to end suffering from disease (Euthanasia, 2005). Proponents of euthanasia argue that only the patient can decide when suffering makes life worse than death, and that such persons should be allowed to make the decision.
Most opponents of euthanasia object to it on religious grounds (Euthanasia, 2005). Some have religious beliefs that prohibit all forms of killing, while others consider capital punishment and self-defense acceptable, but object to euthanasia as usurping decision-making authority that they see as belonging to the Creator. Another argument is that if euthanasia becomes accepted, perhaps doctors will perform euthanasia to reduce the medical costs of caring for the chronically ill and dying, or do it because the family wants to put an end to the bother of keeping a sick relative alive. Many doctors are against euthanasia because they are trained to save lives, not to take them, and people fear that if they are trained to do both, they may not always put the effort in to save the lives of ...