Euthanasia is a controversial topic that raises many religious, medical and ethical issues. View points for and against Euthanasia have been debated for many years. There are several quality arguments presented by both those for and against the practice. A considerable size of society is in favor of Euthanasia mostly because they feel that as a democratic country, individuals have the right to decide whether to terminate their life or not. "The right to choose to die when terminally or hopelessly ill is to me the ultimate civil and personal liberty. People are not a free people unless they are able die according to, and at the time of, their selection" (Humphry 1). Those who are not in favor have a strongly held opinion against Euthanasia primarily because society feels that it is up to God to determine when the time has come for a person who is of his creation to exit life on earth.
The term Euthanasia comes from the Greek words "eu" meaning good, and "thanatos" meaning death and is defined as the "the intentional termination of life by another at the explicit request of the person who dies."(www.wikipedia.org) This definition includes a very key point. It states that the person to be killed must clearly request their life be ended; therefore they are the one to initiate the idea. Cats and dogs in the USA are being euthanized on a daily basis, some per request of the owner and others because of over population of the animals. Why is it that it seems more acceptable to put a suffering pet to sleep than to do it to a family member? Euthanasia stems out into three different branches, euthanasia is the intentional killing by act or omission of a dependent human being for his or her alleged benefit. The first is voluntary euthanasia, which ...