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Euthanasia (from Greek: εὐθανασία, lit. 'good death': εὖ, eu, 'well, good' + θάνατος, thanatos, 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering.[1][2]
Different countries have different euthanasia laws. The British House of Lords select committee on medical ethics defines euthanasia as "a deliberate intervention undertaken with the express intention of ending a life to relieve intractable suffering".[3] In the Netherlands and Belgium, euthanasia is understood as "termination of life by a doctor at the request of a patient".[4] The Dutch law, however, does not use the term 'euthanasia' but includes the concept under the broader definition of "assisted suicide and termination of life on request".[5]
Euthanasia is categorised in different ways, which include voluntary, non-voluntary, and involuntary.[6] Voluntary euthanasia is when a person wishes to have their life ended and is legal in a growing number of countries. Non-voluntary euthanasia occurs when a patient's consent is unavailable and is legal in some countries under certain limited conditions, in both active and passive forms. Involuntary euthanasia, which is done without asking for consent or against the patient's will, is illegal in all countries and is usually considered murder.
As of 2006[update], euthanasia had become the most active area of research in bioethics.[7] In some countries, divisive public controversy occurs over the moral, ethical, and legal issues associated with euthanasia. Passive euthanasia (known as "pulling the plug") is legal under some circumstances in many countries. Active euthanasia, however, is legal or de facto legal in only a handful of countries (for example, Belgium, Canada, and Switzerland), which limit it to specific circumstances and require the approval of counsellors, doctors, or other specialists. In some countries—such as Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan—support for active euthanasia is almost nonexistent.
'Euthanasia' is a compound of two Greek words – eu and thanatos meaning, literally, 'a good death'. Today, 'euthanasia' is generally understood to mean the bringing about of a good death – 'mercy killing,' where one person, A, ends the life of another person, B, for the sake of B."
When a person performs an act of euthanasia, she brings about the death of another person because she believes the latter's present existence is so bad that he would be better off dead, or believes that unless she intervenes and ends his life, his life will very soon become so bad that he would be better off dead.