9781422281338

“death.” In modern society, euthanasia now means much more than a “good death.” It has come to mean the intentional end of a person’s life to end suffering. All people die eventually, and most die of natural causes when their bodies—due to age, illness, or injury—cease to function well enough to keep them alive. Euthanasia shortens the lifespan of a person by killing them before nature runs its course. Active euthanasia occurs by an action, such as causing a person to die by giving them a lethal injection of drugs or put- ting a pillow over their nose and mouth to suffocate them. Passive euthanasia happens through withholding food and water or not performing normal and necessary medical care. In the US, active euthanasia is illegal in all states, but passive euthanasia is legal. The Importance of Intention Euthanasia involves deliberately performing an act or deliber- ately not doing something with the clear intention of causing someone’s death. Without intention to kill someone, euthana- sia does not occur. For example, doctors are sometimes faced with a patient who is close to death. They may decide to stop a particular treatment because it no longer has any benefit to the patient’s health, or they may not start a new treatment because it will not improve the patient’s conditions. Some groups argue that if these decisions result in death, they are examples of pas- sive euthanasia. However, the general opinion is that they are part of fair medical practice that is allowed by law in most countries. Since there is no intention to kill the patient, they would not be considered euthanasia.

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Euthanasia