Author: Prachi Gupta*
“There is no quality of life when the patient is dead.”… A Nurse
Euthanasia (from the Greek meaning “good death”) refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering.
There is no euthanasia unless the death is intentionally caused by what was done or not done. Thus, some medical actions that are often labelled “passive euthanasia” are no form of euthanasia, since the intention to take life is lacking. These acts include not commencing treatment that would not provide a benefit to the patient, withdrawing treatment that has been shown to be ineffective, too burdensome or is unwanted, and the giving of high doses of pain-killers that may endanger life, when they have been shown to be necessary. All those are part of good medical practice, endorsed by law, when they are properly carried out.
There are different euthanasia laws in each country. 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”. In the Netherlands, euthanasia is understood as “termination of life by a doctor at the request of a patient”.