The Earliest Signs Of Euthanasia

The history of euthanasia can be traced back to the classical antiquity times when many Greek and Roman philosophers considered suicide a “good death” and an appropriate response to a variety of circumstances (Dowbiggin 7). During that period, people would kill themselves through various means such as fasting, drinking poison, and hanging themselves. Unexplained pain due to certain diagnosis caused a spike in suicide which allowed the given

Taking a closer look into euthanasia around the world, we find Australia was the one country to lead the cause for legalized euthanasia. The Australian Northern Territory was the first place worldwide to conduct legal Euthanasia. The first case was Mr. Bob Dent, who would be the first man to die under the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act 1995. Mr. Dent died on Sunday September 22, 1996.

To better understand physician-assisted suicide, it is important to consider its history in our society. Euthanasia can be traced back to the Ancient Greeks, however by the thirteenth century Christians, as well as Jews, opposed the practice due to religious beliefs. The earliest United States law prohibiting assisted suicide was passed in New York in 1828. During World War II, Hitler organized mercy killing of the sick or disabled; often referred to as, "Aktion T4" this program was enacted for disabled children under the age of three. A Catholic Bishop called the practice of Euthanasia murder; as a result Hitler publicly ended the program, despite it continuing in private. Instead of using euthanasia by way of gas chambers, the use of drugs and/or starvation became the new way to euthanize citizens without causing attention to themselves. (The History Place 1997) The majoring of United States citizens were against the practice for the main reason being religion; however, looking ahead to the year 1972, euthanasia became a more widely accepted act, "The US Senate Special Commission on Aging (SCA) holds the first national hearing on death with dignity entitled “Death with Dignity: An inquiry into Related Public Issues.” The national hearing showed that Americans were becoming more accepting of the act of assisted suicide, yet less accepting of expecting a miracle while witnessing the suffering of loved ones. (Samuelson)

In his book Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide: Killing or Caring? Dr. Michael Manning M.D breaks euthanasia into further subsets: voluntary active euthanasia, involuntary active euthanasia, passive euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. He states that the debate between euthanasia and physician assisted suicide can be defined as such: “Is it morally acceptable, and so ought it be legally permissible, for a physician to take the life of a competent, terminally ill patient who requests it, or for a physician to assist the competent, terminally ill patient in taking his or her own life” (4). The Oregon Legal Glossary website defines a terminal illness as “an incurable and irreversible disease that has been medically confirmed and will, within reasonable medical judgment, produce death within six months”. Some might wonder why an individual diagnosed with a terminal illness would want to hasten their time of death instead of using the time they have left to be with their family and do what they had always wanted to do. The answer to this can be traced to the ancient Greeks. Manning, notes that during classical Greek antiquity and before the Christian era of the Roman Empire, euthanasia did not mean what it means today. For the individuals of this era, euthanasia was “focused not on the act of hastening death itself, but rather on the manner of one’s

In the United States, euthanasia is still illegal with the exceptions of Oregon, Washington, Vermont, California and Montana. Oregon was the first state to legalize it in November of 1997. Oregon was followed by Washington in November of 2008, then Montana in December of 2009.

Firstly, many believe that euthanasia should be legal because it is just an assistance to help an individual go faster if he/she is suffering from a medical condition. However, euthanizing or assistance in suicide should not be legalized. Since ancient times, people believed that euthanizing has been associated with murder and is not ethical. Medical doctors have too

Euthanasia has been around for many generations. However it has often been questioned whether or not a patient whom has no hope of recovery has the right to decide when and how to end their life. Euthanasia is often defined as ‘the act of deliberately ending a person’s life to relieve suffering’ (NHS choices , 2014). Euthanasia is also described as Mercy killing, however Mercy killing is occasionally defined as allowing someone to die, by withholding extreme medical measures (Dictionary.com, 2015 ). Euthanasia is a very complex issue and has been a controversial issue for a long time, dating back to the time when ancient romans and Greeks supported euthanasia and its practice after the Hippocratic

The way that Euthanasia works is that it is, “performed by the attending physician administering a fatal dose of a suitable drug to the patient on his or her express request.” (Euthanasia) The word Euthanasia derives from the Greek words, Eu (good) and Thanatosis (death), it means “Good Death” or “Gentle and Easy Death”. The earliest recordings of the use of the word was by Suetonius, a Roman historian, in his De Vita Caesarum - Divus Augustus in order to describe the death of Augustus. Despite this the first use in a medical context was used by Francis Bacon within the 17th century, as a reference to an easy, painless, and happy death. During which it was a “physician’s responsibility to alleviate the physical sufferings of the body”. (life.org) Euthanasia is a rejection of the importance and value of human life. With euthanasia no one’s life is being saved – life is only taken.

Euthanasia dates back to as early as 1828 when the first law was written to outlaw anyone from providing a person with a dangerous weapon and or a harmful chemical that would knowingly be used in the taking of a person’s own life. This would include taking the life of another person with their permission. In 1920 the book Permitting the Destruction of Life

As detailed in the “Historical Timeline: History of Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS)”, the topic of Euthanasia and Physician-assisted Suicide has been around since the 5th century B.C. when ancient Greeks and Romans seemed to support Euthanasia before Christianity. Then, there was a transition in history where the consensus on the matter was that the Church and Common Law prohibited suicide and assisted suicide. The 18th century is where this topic became more prevalent where writers tried to start challenging the Church on their view, and in 1870 a man named Samuel Williams started to campaign for people to use morphine and other drugs for Euthanasia (“Historical Timeline: History of Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted

Euthanasia or Physician-assisted suicide as some call it has been done for centuries. The controversy of this has also existed since those times. Back in Greek and roman times as today regular suicide, as in a person who is not dying or incapacitated, was not accepted and I agree but that’s a whole different topic. But back in

The cultural, historiographical and historical development of euthanasia has been paralyzed since the end of antiquity by the choreography and revisions of the philosophy of Hippocrates, the Latin Christendom creation of scripture, and severe social consequences of opposing opinions created by both. The concept of Euthanasia was prevalent, debated and accepted Throughout Antiquity. It was ritualized, discussed in poems and philosophical writings. ?Hippocrates of Kos? who was the first person credited with creating formal teachings against euthanasia with an intention to alter the course of history. He is also credited with the formal teaching against euthanasia and organized the fist known school of medicine against the self-ending of

In the period of time from 500 BC-16th Century AD, ancient Greeks and Romans, before the introduction to the Christianity tend to support euthanasia in various forms, including mercy killing and suicide. Although, it has to be noted that opposition came from physicians and “the Hippocratic Oath prohibited doctors from giving 'a deadly drug to anybody, not even if asked for”. In the period from the 12th Century to the 15th Century, the ascendancy of Christianity with views of life as a gift from God, forbid euthanasia in all forms. During the 13th century, Jewish and Christian thinkers also opposed to euthanasia, bringing explanation that “it violates God's authority over life” and these views lasted through the periods of the Renaissance and Reformation. In the 17th century, in the American colonies, common laws prohibited suicide or assisted suicide. In Europe, in 17-18 centuries, some writers attempted to question church authority regarding euthanasia and suicide, but it was rather single incidents that did not bring much attention of the public (Procon.org,

The term Euthanasia is derived from the Greek words, Eu (good) and Thanatosis (death) meaning a very gentle and easy death. The definition of euthanasia has now come down to “the act or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals (as persons or domestic animals) in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy.” Therefore, this term can be also called “mercy killing”. In this sense euthanasia means the active or inactive death of a patient. This form of “easy death” for hopeless and suffering patients has been around since ancient ages as, Mesopotamia strictly forbade euthanasia following the sixth commandment “thou shall not kill”, India practiced it by drowning incurable patients in the Ganges

Euthanasia is defined as, "The act or practice of putting to death painlessly a person suffering from an incurable disease." Euthanasia can be traced back as far back as the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. It was sometimes allowed in these civilizations to help others die. Voluntary euthanasia was approved in these ancient societies. Today, the practice of euthanasia causes great controversy. Both pro-life groups and right-to-die groups present arguments for their different sides. Pro-life groups make arguments and present fears against euthanasia. I contend that the case for the right to die is the stronger argument.