Study about Euthanasia, Historical background and reason of Euthanasia

Abstract

The word ‘Euthanasia’ is a derivative from the Greek words ‘eu’ and ‘thanotos’ which literally mean “good death”. It is otherwise described as mercy killing. The death of a terminally ill patient is accelerated through active or passive means in order to relieve such patient of pain or suffering. It appears that the word was used in the 17th Century by Francis Bacon to refer to an easy, painless and happy death for which it was the physician’s duty and responsibility to alleviate the physical suffering of the body of the patient. The House of Lords Select Comm ittee on ‘Medical Ethics’ in England defined Euthanasia as “a deliberate intervention undertaken with the express intention of ending a life to relieve intractable suffering”. The European Association of Palliative Care (EPAC) Ethics Task Force, in a discussion on.