FINAL ESSAY: 3 TEAM: 2 Esther Quintana Martínez de Iturrate 27-12-03
             PROBLEMS WITH EUTHANASIA AND ASSISTED SUICIDE
             Euthanasia is one of the most debatable issues worldwide nowadays, the debate is so controversial and the opposing viewpoints are so many that the term is hard to define. If we go back to the origin of the word we find that it comes from the two Greek words: "eu" and "thanatos" which mean easy death. According to the Collins English Dictionary the definition of the term is: "The act of killing someone painlessly, especially to relieve suffering from an incurable illness. Also called mercy killing". Euthanasia and assisted suicide are exchangeable terms that have been used in many countries such as Holland, Switzeland and New Zealand to pass legislation in order to provide some kind of psycological or physical benefit for terminal or incurable patients and their families. The reasons that push people to end their life vary, one of the most common reasons is to end the pain of the person (physical or psychological), another common reason is to guarantee a dignified death and to have control over the process. The issue involves the decisions of the patients and the doctors as well as of the families. Sometimes these decisions are hard, especially when the patients are not able to decide by themselves. In this case, doctors and family have to decide for them, and this is the point where they have to face economic, legal and personal factors which can put a lot pressure on the decision to be made. While advocates of assisted suicide suggest that this would provide people with autonomy and personal control, the opponents would disagree saying that people with illnesses and disabilities would have these decisons made for them and imposed on them. In this essay I am going to discuss these factors and the problems with assisted suicide and I am going to argue that in my view, euthanasia sho...