Euthanasia

(From Greek eu, well, and thanatos, death), easy, painless death. This is here considered i
An additional motive assigned for this doctrine is that the administration of drugs of the
Euthanasia, whether in a medical setting (hospital, clinic, hospice) or not (at home) is of
Euthanasia is the intentional premature termination of another person's life either by dire
Definition: The act of a physician or other third party ending a patient's life in response
Voluntary Euthanasia refers to the action taken by the physician and the patient, who both
Involuntary Euthanasia refers to a third party taking a patient's life without the informed
Also Known As: physician-assisted death, physician-assisted suicide, mercy killing.
Voluntary and involuntary euthanasia
Voluntary and involuntary euthanasia
Voluntary euthanasia
The person wants to die and says so. This includes cases of:
* asking for help with dying
* refusing burdensome medical treatment
* asking for medical treatment to be stopped, or life support machines to be switched o
* refusing to eat
* simply deciding to die
Non-voluntary euthanasia
The person cannot make a decision or cannot make their wishes known.
* the person is in a coma
* the person is too young (eg a very young baby)
* the person is senile
* the person is mentally retarded to a very severe extent
* the person is severely brain damaged
* the person is mentally disturbed in such a way that they should be protected from the
Involuntary euthanasia
The person wants to live but is killed anyway.This is usually murder but not always. Consid
* A soldier has their stomach blown open by a shell burst. They are in great pain and s
* A person is seen at a 10th floor window of a burning building. Their clothes are on f
* A man and a woman are fleeing from a horde of alien monsters notorious for torturing
The morality of these and similar cases is left for the reader to think about.
Active euthanasia
Active euthanasia occurs when the medical professionals, or another person, deliberately do
Passive euthanasia
Passive euthanasia occurs when the patient dies because the medical professionals either do
* switch off life-support machines
* disconnect a feeding tube
* don't carry out a life-extending operation
 * don't give life-extending drugs

Euthanasia (Greek, "good death") is the practice of killing a person or animal, in a painle
Euthanasia in the strict sense involves actively causing death.
Types of euthanasia
Apart from the above classifications three types of euthanasia may be identified, depending
Voluntary euthanasia
This is the truest and fullest form of euthanasia wherein the individual requests euthanasi
Non-voluntary euthanasia
Where an individual lacks sentience (in a coma, for example) and hence cannot decide, or di
Involuntary euthanasia
Where an individual may distinguish between life and death - and may fully realise the diff

Euthanasia by consent
Euthanasia may be conducted with consent (voluntary euthanasia) or without consent (involun
Euthanasia by means
Euthanasia may be conducted passively, non-actively, and actively. Passive euthanasia entai