Euthanasia: A Necessary Relief According to Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, euthanasia is that act or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals (persons or domestic animals) in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy. How can anyone disagree with this concept? Euthanasia is acceptable when the person involved, or the family if the individual is incapable, makes a conscious decision while suffering from an incurable disease.The whole idea of assisted suicide was started in the thirties and forties when Hitler went on his genocidal rampage. This fact alone gives the term “euthanasia” a negative connotation, but one must examine the differences between our time and his. “Hitler was bent on exterminating Jews, even if he destroyed a few thousand others before he found his focus” (King 1). This is where the distinction lies. Our society is out to relieve pain and suffering for certain individuals who would benefit from it, not to cause it. Hitler’s victims were people who had no rights, choices, or any influence in the outcome of their lives, and we, as a society, need to realize that although this trend may have begun in Germany, everything hateful, cruel, and selfish ended there as well. A person’s right to choose is even incorporated into our national laws. “The Declaration of Independence states that a person has certain unalienable rights which are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (Day 2). According to this statement, any person denied this right is a victim of violation. This said, I do believe that there should be, and is to an extent, some distinction between someone openly committing suicide for paltry, insignificant reasons, and someone who is asking for death for health reasons of grief and misery. Given, if a family loses a family member by the euthanasia technique, it can cause a great deal...
