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Euthanasia on a Global View

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Euthanasia on a Global View The term euthanasia is not heard normally in our North American society. To knowingly take your own life is looked down upon by the majority. It being seen as acts of the mentally ill and abused. To the majority, euthanasia is seen as a useless evil used give some people an unnecessary way out of their lives. To those on the other side this gives them a solution to suffering that they have endured. The rule prevails in the United States, as in Britain, that a person who kills another with his consent for merciful reasons, when that other person is suffering from a fatal and incurable disease, is guilty of murder or manslaughter; and the rule is the same if he provides the sufferer with the means of suicide. Apparently only in Texas is the position different; there, the act of providing the means of suicide is not an offense, but directly killing the sufferer is. (Williams 1957) The idea of euthanasia or the right to die is seen as taboo in our society. The idea of death is one that most of us choose to keep from our minds. There appear to be two main arguments against euthanasia that are widely acknowledged; it would eventually not only be for the “terminally ill” and it is a rejection of the importance and value of human life. (Euthanasia 2013) Those for euthanasia claim that it helps to end suffering for the terminally ill. The opposed counter this with the argument that “terminal” can be defined in many different ways. Dr. J. Kevorkian, founder of the “suicide machine” who assisted in over 130 patients suicides, claimed a terminal illness was “any disease that curtails life even for a day.” (Euthanasia 2013) Kevorkian was convicted of 2nd degree murder in the 90s for his part in assisting suicides. Many argue that it degrades the significance of a person’s life when it is ended before its natural course. Herbert Hendin,

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