Euthanasia: The argument of the living
Euthanasia: The Argument of the Living
“Man is the only creature who knows that he will die.”
–Voltaire
An honorable death has been sought by many cultures and groups throughout time. Euthanasia comes from the Greek words “Eu” (good) and “thánatos” (death). Physician-Assisted Suicide is a “situation when the physician provides the means of death for a gravely ill patient but the patient takes the final step” (dictionary.com). This is very similar to Euthanasia which is also called mercy killing. Euthanasia is “The act of putting to death painlessly or allowing to die, as by withholding extreme medical measures, a person or animal suffering from an incurable, especially a painful, disease or condition.”(dictionary.com). Ethical questions have been asked by society about taking a life, and values have continually shifted on this controversial topic.
The Greeks were completely open to stop suffering or pain when at the end of a life, they believed, it was a worthy and sensible choice. A perfectly acceptable practice in Spartan Society was infanticide (killing infants), which was used on infants who did not look healthy and strong. As time progressed, Christians and Muslims in the second and third centuries abolished euthanasia saying that human life was sacred. The sixth commandment, “Thou shall not kill”, was a strong counter point against taking a human life, and many Church officials warned that suicide was a sin and would affect the soul on judgment day.
In the early nineteenth century Nazi authorities created committees that systematically euthanized those with “Lebensunwerte Leben”–German for “lives unworthy of living”. People in this category were those who were an extra expense for the state: anyone who was dependent on the care of others, physically handicapped, the mentally challenged, and countless others. In a two year period, between 1939 and 1941, Nazi authorities had euthanized 100,000 of their own people who were not Jewish. A German
“Man is the only creature who knows that he will die.”
–Voltaire
An honorable death has been sought by many cultures and groups throughout time. Euthanasia comes from the Greek words “Eu” (good) and “thánatos” (death). Physician-Assisted Suicide is a “situation when the physician provides the means of death for a gravely ill patient but the patient takes the final step” (dictionary.com). This is very similar to Euthanasia which is also called mercy killing. Euthanasia is “The act of putting to death painlessly or allowing to die, as by withholding extreme medical measures, a person or animal suffering from an incurable, especially a painful, disease or condition.”(dictionary.com). Ethical questions have been asked by society about taking a life, and values have continually shifted on this controversial topic.
The Greeks were completely open to stop suffering or pain when at the end of a life, they believed, it was a worthy and sensible choice. A perfectly acceptable practice in Spartan Society was infanticide (killing infants), which was used on infants who did not look healthy and strong. As time progressed, Christians and Muslims in the second and third centuries abolished euthanasia saying that human life was sacred. The sixth commandment, “Thou shall not kill”, was a strong counter point against taking a human life, and many Church officials warned that suicide was a sin and would affect the soul on judgment day.
In the early nineteenth century Nazi authorities created committees that systematically euthanized those with “Lebensunwerte Leben”–German for “lives unworthy of living”. People in this category were those who were an extra expense for the state: anyone who was dependent on the care of others, physically handicapped, the mentally challenged, and countless others. In a two year period, between 1939 and 1941, Nazi authorities had euthanized 100,000 of their own people who were not Jewish. A German