Euthanasia, today it means to "allow" someone to die, either at the hands of someone
else, or at his or her own hands. Actually, euthanasia is a Greek word meaning "good death"
or "happy death". Its intention surely was not suicide or assisted suicide. How has the
meaning of this ancient word twisted? Could there exist a level of pain, so intense that
suicide was the best way out? As the years come, this issue shall increasingly face us.
Nevertheless, can Americans handle the fact of, "Life unworthy of life"? Only time will
Ever since the advent of medical technology prolonging life, a physician's goal has
been to keep the patient alive. Regardless of pain, a doctor would keep trying until death
was eminent. Now we find ourselves asking, is there such a thing as life unworthy of life?
Before recent medical technology, if you got an infection you either died, or recovered,
unlike today where an infection is easily cured with antibiotic. The principles of the right
to live and the right to die, or euthanasia, both revolve around the same concept, whether a
patient should be allowed to refuse medical treatment that may prolong life. This category
includes respirators, medication that may cause any pain, medication that may cause
emotional damage, or cancer and terminally ill patients. Some people simply want to die, not
for any medical reasons, but just because they feel that there life has no meaning left in
In the United States, there are laws prohibiting physician assisted suicide or
euthanasia. However, in most cases a comatose patient is allowed to be disconnected from a
respirator, or cut off from food and water supply, without legal prosecution. In other
countries, euthanasia is permitted only under strict rules and circumstances. The purpose of
these rules is to prevent a movement to involuntarily include any one person or g...