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Essay on Ethical and legal perceptions of Euthanasia
A deliberate act undertaken by one person with the intention of ending the life of another person to relieve that person's suffering where the act is the cause of death." Euthanasia may be "voluntary," "involuntary" or "non-voluntary," depending on (a) the competence of the recipient, (b) whether or not the act is consistent with his or her wishes (if these are known) and (c) whether or not the recipient is aware that euthanasia is to be performed. - Assisted suicide: "the act of intentionally killing oneself with the assistance of another who deliberately provides the knowledge, means, or both.
Euthanasia refers to assisted dying. The assistance ends the life of a person or an animal, in a painless or minimally painful way, most often for merciful reasons, usually to end suffering.This topic is often highly charged -- emotionally, politically, morally, etc. Terminology and laws shift over time and geographically/globally, which cause a great deal of confusion.First, euthanasia does not refer to "letting die" or "allowing to die." In the United States, "letting die" or "allowing to die" refer to areas which have long been considered ethically and legally acceptable and permissible, including withholding and withdrawing of medical treatment such as dialysis or feeding tubes.
Nor does euthanasia refer to the holding of hydration and nutrition, two things in most cultures, which have long been associated with "love and caring." While the concept of holding off on those two things may be counterintuitive, as a body's major organ systems try to shut down, a dying person often feels most comfortable without any fluids or food. To do otherwise is like "force feeding" a body that does not "want" or need to be fed or hydrated, and doing so may actually cause physical discomfort and suffering.What euthanasia DOES include can be very confusing. Next are several summary statements, which are followed by expanded definitions of each.......
