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Euthanasia has been practiced in some form or another by many societies in our history. In ancient Greece and Rome helping others to die or putting them to death was considered permissible and in some situations honorable. In the Greek city of Sparta all newborns with severe birth defects were left to die. Members of society that had physical disabilities were looked at as useless and often expendable. Elderly commonly practiced euthanasia when they felt that their usefulness to society was at a minimum. Undoubtedly times have changed and now people take on different perspectives of death and dying. Death is no longer deemed as an honorable part of the cycle of life. Instead it is a feared part of life.
Although death is feared, euthanasia is still practiced in many modern world societies. Euthanasia is practiced in the Netherlands, Germany, and passively in Great Britain. Many eyes are on the Dutch because their laws dealing with euthanasia are very controversial and very closely related to issues faced in America. In the Netherlands laws have been passed that legalize euthanasia under strict guidelines. In order for voluntary euthanasia in a competent adult to be legal three basic conditions must be met: "the request is voluntary and freely made, the suffering is unbearable and a consultant concurs in the appropriateness of the decision" (Greenberg 40). These strict guidelines help dissolve the possibilities of error and illegal activity.
Germany's laws on euthanasia are much looser. Assisted suicide is legal and widely accepted. Germany much like Great Britain has a health care system that essentially puts those in need of medical attention into a queue. Those that are savable are put onto the list for treatment and those in which treatment would only prolong the inevitable are just "patched up". For example, imagine two men with liver problems. One man is in his 30's and the other is an alcoholic in his late 60's.
