Euthanasia has become an important issue in the protection of human dignity. It has been in the news a good deal lately because of the crusade of the so-called "suicide doctor," Dr. Jack Kevorkian, who has "assisted" at some 17 or 18 suicides over the past few years, all of people who were facing some debilitating and painful degenerative disease. As medical science becomes more adept at prolonging life, but not necessarily at making that life valuable, euthanasia becomes an option to be considered by those who suffer, those who love them, and those who are charged with their care. Euthanasia comes from two Greek words meaning "good death" or "happy death," and the term refers to any action that brings a painless death to a person suffering from an injury, disease, or the ravages of age. There is a distinction between active euthanasia and passive euthanasia. Passive euthanasia refers to the withdrawal of "heroic" measures that keep a moribund person alive. Active euthanasia means taking a positive action that leads directly to the death of another person, and active euthanasia is considered murder in most legal and religious systems (Urofsky 15).
Active euthanasia should be legalized. It is first of all a humane way of ending life in the event of a terminal illness or debilitating and incurable injury. The legalization of active euthanasia would also end the physical and emotional suffering not only of the patient but also of the immediate family members. Furthermore, such a move would help cut the nation's soaring health costs by eliminating expensive extended--and ultimately fruitless--hospital care. More and more Americans today are seeking the right to terminate life when it is no longer livable, as is seen in the success of books like Final Exit, which offers a rationale for active euthanasia and suicide:
It is against the law everywhere to assist a suicide--no matter what the reason. . . Yet hundreds of people i...