Euthanasia or mercy killing

Modern history

Since the 19th Century, euthanasia has sparked intermittent debates and activism in North America and Europe. According to medical historian Ezekiel Emanuel, it was the availability of anesthesia that ushered in the modern era of euthanasia. In 1828, the first known anti-euthanasia law in the United States was passed in the state of New York, with many other localities and states following suit over a period of several years. After the Civil War, voluntary euthanasia was promoted by advocates, including some doctors. Support peaked around the turn of the century in the US and then grew again in the 1930s. In an article in the Bulletin of the History of Medicine, Brown University historian Jacob M. Appel documented extensive political debate over legislation to legalize physician-assisted suicide in both Iowa and Ohio in 1906. Appel indicates social activist Anna S. Hall was the driving force behind this movement. According to historian Ian Dowbiggin, leading public figures, including Clarence Darrow and Jack London, advocated for the legalization of euthanasia. Euthanasia societies were formed in England in 1935 and in the USA in 1938 to promote euthanasia. Although euthanasia legislation did not pass in the USA or England, in 1937, doctor-assisted euthanasia was declared legal in Switzerland as long as the doctor ending the life had nothing to gain. During this same era, US courts tackled cases involving critically ill people who requested physician assistance in dying as well as mercy killings, such as by parents of their severely disabled children

Euthanasia (from the Greek meaning "good death" refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life to relieve pain and suffering. There are different euthanasia laws in each Country. The House of Lords Select Committee on Medical Ethics of England defines euthanasia as "a deliberate intervention undertaken with the express intention of ending a life, to relieve intractable suffering." In the Netherlands, euthanasia is understood as "termination of life by a doctor at the request of a patient" Euthanasia is categorized in different ways, which include voluntary, non-voluntary, or involuntary. Voluntary euthanasia is legal in some countries and U.S. states. Nonvoluntary euthanasia is illegal in all countries. However, in the Netherlands, physicians can avoid prosecution by following well described and strict conditions. Involuntary euthanasia is usually considered murder. Voluntary euthanasia: refers to the practice of ending a life in a painless manner. Voluntary euthanasia (VE) and physician-assisted suicide (PAS) have been the focus of great controversy in recent years.

As of 2009, some forms of voluntary euthanasia are legal in Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington.

Assisted suicide
Assisted suicide is where the patient actively takes the last step in their death. The term "assisted suicide" is contrasted with "active euthanasia" when the difference between providing the means and actively administering lethal medicine is considered important, though in practice, the distinction can appear very hard to draw. For example, Swiss law on assisted suicide allows assisted suicide, while all forms of active euthanasia (like lethal injection) remain prohibited. Some jurisdictions declare that a person dying as a result of physician assisted suicide does not commit suicide. This ensures that terminally ill people choosing assisted suicide options do not have reduced insurance claims compared to people dying in "natural" way. For example, the Oregon Death with Dignity Act defines that "... participation under the Act is not suicide, so should not affect insurance benefits by that definition."

Other terminology

Voluntary refusal of food and fluids (VRFF) or Patient Refusal of Nutrition and Hydration (PRNH) is bordering on euthanasia. Some authors classify it as a form of passive euthanasia, while others treat it separately because it is treated differently from legal point of view and often perceived as a more ethical option. VRFF is sometimes suggested as a legal alternative to euthanasia in jurisdictions disallowing euthanasia. Non-voluntary euthanasia (sometimes known as mercy killing) is euthanasia conducted where the explicit consent of the individual concerned is unavailable. In the modern world, the term is usually applied to medical situations. It may be contrasted with involuntary euthanasia, where euthanasia is performed against the will of the patient.[2][3] Involuntary euthanasia occurs when euthanasia is performed on a person who is able to provide informed consent, but does not, either because they do not choose to die, or because they were not asked. It is typically, but not always, murder.[2] For example:

A soldier has their stomach blown open by a shell burst. They are in great pain and screaming in agony. They beg the army doctor to save their life. The doctor knows that they will die in ten minutes whatever happens. As he has no painkilling drugs with him he decides to spare

the soldier further pain and shoots them dead.

Involuntary euthanasia is contrasted with voluntary euthanasia (euthanasia performed with the patient's consent) and non-voluntary euthanasia (where the patient is unable to give their informed consent, for example when a patient is comatose or a child). Involuntary euthanasia is widely opposed and is regarded as a crime in legal jurisdictions, and is sometimes used as a reason for not changing laws relating to other forms of euthanasia Historically, involuntary euthanasia has received some support from parts of the eugenics and pro-euthanasia movements. During the Second World War, the Nazis ran an involuntary "Euthanasia Programme", later called Action T4, which was supposed to grant "mercy deaths" to incurable patients. In practice it was used to exterminate "lives unworthy of life" as part of their "racial hygiene" concept and, as a result, at least 200,000 physically or mentally handicapped people were killed by medication, starvation, or in the chambers between 1939 and 1945. Although some authors have identified fundamental similarities between Action T4 and euthanasia, (for example, Leo Alexander noted that both the euthanasia movement at the time and Action T4 emerged from the same basic principals), it has been argued that the Action T4 program did not constitute euthanasia, in spite of the use of the term, in part because it was not intended to be in the interests of the subject. Instead it is argued that the use of the word "euthanasia" was as a "camouflage word for manslaughter and murder of innocent subgroups of the population on the grounds of disabilities, religious beliefs, and discordant individual values".Whether or not it can be defined as euthanasia, Action T4 is employed within the euthanasia debate as an example of where legalising euthanasia can potentially lead.[11] More recently, Brad Hooker noted that "we can distinguish between killing innocent people against their wishes but for their own good, and killing them for some other reason", although he also stated that such a distinction is not very useful and would be likely to scare people away from medical experts, and that he "cannot imagine how allowing involuntary euthanasia could generate benefits large enough to begin to offset this loss".Philosopher Peter Singer, in his book Practical Ethics, after arguing in favour of voluntary and nonvoluntary euthanasia also speaks of conceivable cases of justifiable involuntary euthanasia, but rejects the latter as "fortunately, more encountered in fiction than in reality."

Animal euthanasia
This article is about mercy killing of non-human animals. For compassionate death in Animal euthanasia (from the Greek meaning "good death") is the act of putting to death

painlessly or allowing to die, as by withholding extreme medical measures, an animal suffering from an incurable, especially a painful, disease or condition. Euthanasia methods are designed to cause minimal pain and distress. Euthanasia is distinct from animal slaughter and pest control, which are performed for purposes other than an act of mercy, although in some cases the killing procedure is the same. In domesticated animals, this process is commonly referred to by euphemisms such as "lay down", "put down", "put to sleep", "destroyed", or "put out of its/his/her misery".

Reasons for euthanasia

Lethal chamber in the Royal London Institute and Home for Lost and Starving Cats

Terminal illness e.g. cancer Rabies Behavioral problems (that usually cannot be corrected) e.g. aggression Illness or broken limbs that would cause suffering for the animal to live with, or when the owner cannot afford (or has a moral objection to) treatment. Old age Deterioration to loss of major bodily functions. Severe impairment of the quality of life. Lack of homes - many shelters receive considerably more surrendered animals than they are capable of re-housing.

Small animal euthanasia is typically performed in a veterinary clinic or hospital, or in an animal shelter, and is usually carried out by a veterinarian, or a veterinary technician working under the veterinarian's supervision. Often animal shelter workers are trained to do

euthanasia as well. Some veterinarians will perform the euthanasia at the pet owner's home this is virtually mandatory in the case of large animal euthanasia. In the case of large animals which have sustained injuries, this will also occur at the site of the accident, for example on a racecourse. Some animal rights organizations, such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, support animal euthanasia in certain circumstances, and practice euthanasia at shelters that they operate.

Jack Kevorkian: How he made controversial history

Jack Kevorkian, the controversial American doctor who claimed to have assisted more than 100 suicides, has died aged 83. To his critics, he was Dr Death. To other detractors, Jack the Dripper. Kevorkian was given plenty of nicknames after receiving international attention in the 1990s, throughout which he waged a defiant campaign to help people end their lives. But to his supporters, he became the poster boy for legislative reform. Both sides of the debate would agree that he provoked a national discussion, and doctor-assisted suicide is now legal in three American states. "Kevorkian didn't seek out history, but he made history," was the conclusion of his attorney, Geoffrey Feiger.

Even the judge who put him behind bars, Jessica Cooper of Oakland County in Michigan, acknowledged as much.
Continue reading the main story Start Quote

I think the debate he stirred resulted in the growth and greater acceptance of hospice care
End Quote Jessica Cooper Judge who imprisoned him

"He brought to the forefront end-of-life issues," says Ms Cooper, who now serves as Oakland County's prosecutor. "Those were not things that were discussed publicly before. That debate continues in medical schools and on Main Street, but I think the debate he stirred resulted in the growth and greater acceptance of hospice care and greater opportunity for death with dignity. "I don't know if that was his intended effect or a fortunate side effect, but that is what occurred in Michigan." The son of Armenian immigrants, Jacob Kevorkian was born in Michigan on 26 May 1928. He studied pathology at the University of Michigan, where he excelled. He taught himself seven languages, including Russian and Japanese, he painted and he played three musical instruments

Dr Death' Kevorkian dies at 83

Controversial right-to-die activist who assisted more than 100 people in ending their lives passes away at US hospital.

Kevorkian was let off in four legal cases, but finally jailed for second-degree murder in 1999 [GALLO/GETTY]

Jack Kevorkian, the advocate of assisted suicide who was known as "Dr Death" for having helped more than 100 people end their lives, has died at the age of 83, his lawyer announced. Kevorkian died early on Friday morning at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan, where he had been hospitalised for the past two weeks with kidney and heart trouble, Mayer Morganroth, an attorney and friend, said. Kevorkian, who had previously been diagnosed with liver cancer, died from a blood clot that lodged in his heart, the Detroit Free Press reported. Lauded and reviled Kevorkian, a pathologist, was focused on death and dying long before he ignited a polarising debate in the United States over assisted suicide by crisscrossing through Michigan in a rusty Volkswagen

van, hauling a machine to help sick and suffering people to end their lives. He has been both lauded by his admirers as a hero who allowed the terminally ill to die with dignity, and reviled by his critics as a cold-blooded killer who preyed on those suffering from chronic pain and depression. Most of his clients were middle-aged women. "Dr Jack Kevorkian was a rare human being," his longtime attorney Geoffrey Fieger told reporters on Friday. "It's a rare human being who can single-handedly take on an entire society by the scruff of its neck and force it to focus on the suffering of other human beings." In 1990, Kevorkian launched his assisted suicide campaign by allowing an Alzheimer's patient to kill herself using a machine he devised that allowed the patient themselves to trigger an injection of a lethal drug. He was charged with first-degree murder in the case, but the charges were later dismissed. Fiery and unwavering in his cause, Kevorkian made a point of thumbing his nose at lawmakers, prosecutors and judges as he accelerated his campaign through the 1990s, using various methods, including carbon monoxide gas. Often, Kevorkian would drop off bodies at hospitals late at night or leave them in the motel rooms where the assisted suicides took place. The doctor was declared not guilty four times in Michigan before he was finally convicted of murder in the second-degree in 1999, after a CBS news program aired a video of Kevorkian administering lethal drugs to a 52-year-old man who was suffering from debilitating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as Lou Gehrig's disease). "The issue's got to be raised to the level where it is finally decided," Kevorkian, who had provided the video to CBS, said during that broadcast. He also challenged prosecutors to charge him in that case. In an interview, the man's brother Terrence said his brother received "a medical service that was requested and, from my point of view, compassionately provided by Jack. It should not be a crime". Kevorkian was imprisoned for eight years, and a condition of his release in 2007 was that he was no longer to assist in any more suicides. In a rare televised interview from prison in 2005, Kevorkian told MSNBC he regretted "a little" the actions that put him there. "It was disappointing because what I did turned out to be in vain ... And my only regret was not having done it through the legal system, through legislation, possibly," he said. He had appealed to leave prison early due to ill health, but said that he did not consider himself a candidate for assisted suicide. He did not leave the public eye after his release from prison, giving occasional lectures and running

unsuccessfully for the US Congress in 2008. An HBO documentary on his life and a movie, "You Don't Know Jack", starring Al Pacino, brought him back into the limelight last year. "Obitoriums" Kevorkian was born in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac, and was well-read in philosophy and history. He cited Aristotle, Sir Thomas More and Pliny the Elder in his arguments for why people should be given the right to choose to die with dignity. In a June 2010 interview with Reuters Television, the activist said he was afraid of death as much as anyone else and that the world had a hypocritical attitude towards voluntary euthanasia. "If we can aid people into coming into the world, why can't we aid them in exiting the world?" he said. Doctor-assisted suicide essentially became law in Oregon in 1997 and in Washington state in 2009. The practice of doctors writing prescriptions to help terminally ill patients kill themselves was ultimately upheld as legal by the US Supreme Court. In 2009, the Montana Supreme Court effectively upheld the legality of the practice in that state as well. Kevorkian was first dubbed "Dr Death" by colleagues during his medical residency in the 1950s when he asked to work the night shift at Detroit Receiving Hospital so he could be on duty when more people died. After the US Supreme Court permitted states to reinstate the death penalty in 1976, Kevorkian campaigned for performing medical experiments and harvesting the organs of consenting death row inmates. Kevorkian's ultimate goal was to establish "obitoriums" where people would go to die. Doctors there could harvest organs and perform medical experiments during the suicide process. Such experiments would be "entirely ethical spinoffs" of suicide, he wrote in his 1991 book "Prescription: Medicide - The Goodness of Planned Death." Fieger, Kevorkian's former attorney, said that ultimately the doctor was too physically weak to be able to take his own life. "If he had enough strength to do something about it, he would have,'' Fieger said at a news conference in Southfield. "Had he been able to go home, Jack Kevorkian probably would not have allowed himself to go back to the hospital." Nurses played recordings of classical music by composer Johann Sebastian Bach for Kevorkian before he died, Morganroth said.