It is apparent that euthanasia should be permitted everywhere for the following reasons: individual liberty; one's undesired pain, suffering, and misery; and the individual's frustration from having a valueless life. First off one should understand what the term euthanasia means. What is euthanasia? Euthanasia is defined in Webster's Dictionary as "the act or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals in a relatively painless way for reason of mercy (Webster's Dictionary 401). The Hemlock Society defines it as justifiable suicide that is rational and planned self-deliverance. In ancient Greece, Euthanasia stands for eu-thanatos which means "easy death."" Today's Euthanasia generally refers to mercy killing, the voluntary ending of the life of someone who is terminally or hopelessly ill. "No matter what your definition, Euthanasia is ethical, and physicians should be allowed to assist in it legally."" (Humphry, 18).
In essence, there are three "practices- that are involved with Euthanasia. The first one is voluntary euthanasia, where the person suffering from the illness asks to be killed and that involves painlessly putting individuals to death for merciful reasons. This can be done when a doctor gives the patient a lethal dose of medication. The second "practice- involved with Euthanasia is involuntary and this concerns the killing of persons who cannot express their wishes, because of immaturity (such as an infant or very young child), persons in a state of coma or mental retardation. In actuality, in this situation, a loved one decides if the person would be better off dead than living. The third and final "practice- is passive Euthanasia, where the patient is killed by withdrawing some kind of support and letting nature take its course.
In order to understand the pro-Euthanasia of such a controversial issue, it is required that one sees the view points, strong beliefs, and the perspective of one who advocates the practice of legalizing Euthanasia.
