Throughout history, philosophers have spent sleepless nights restlessly debating whether people have the right to end their lives, and under what circumstances they may do so. The topic of euthanasia touches upon people’s most fundamental interests; their morality, spirituality and well being, and hence provokes the most passionate of human emotions….
The concept of euthanasia was coined by the ancient Greeks and comes from a compound of two Greek words; Eu (meaning good) and Thanatos (meaning death). The Oxford English dictionary defines euthanasia as the intentional act of causing or hastening the death of a person who is suffering from an incurable and or terminal disease or condition, especially a painful one, for reasons of mercy. …show more content…
New Zealand does not provide the means for voluntary euthanasia however, involuntary euthanasia is permissible, in certain circumstances.
Active euthanasia is euthanasia performed by a healthcare practitioner who not only provides the means of death, but also carries out the final death-causing act. This form of euthanasia is commonly practiced with lethal injections or prescribed overdoses of drugs.
Actions that result in the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment are often regarded as passive euthanasia, examples of passive euthanasia include switching off a patient 's respirator or refusing a patient chemotherapy. Where these two forms of euthanasia diverge, is that in passive euthanasia, the doctors are not ‘actively’ killing the person, rather they are simply not saving them. Currently, in New Zealand, active euthanasia is illegal, whereas passive euthanasia is permissible, in certain
The concept of euthanasia was coined by the ancient Greeks and comes from a compound of two Greek words; Eu (meaning good) and Thanatos (meaning death). The Oxford English dictionary defines euthanasia as the intentional act of causing or hastening the death of a person who is suffering from an incurable and or terminal disease or condition, especially a painful one, for reasons of mercy. …show more content…
New Zealand does not provide the means for voluntary euthanasia however, involuntary euthanasia is permissible, in certain circumstances.
Active euthanasia is euthanasia performed by a healthcare practitioner who not only provides the means of death, but also carries out the final death-causing act. This form of euthanasia is commonly practiced with lethal injections or prescribed overdoses of drugs.
Actions that result in the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment are often regarded as passive euthanasia, examples of passive euthanasia include switching off a patient 's respirator or refusing a patient chemotherapy. Where these two forms of euthanasia diverge, is that in passive euthanasia, the doctors are not ‘actively’ killing the person, rather they are simply not saving them. Currently, in New Zealand, active euthanasia is illegal, whereas passive euthanasia is permissible, in certain