GC: n
S: NCBI – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8857436/ (last access: 11 December 2023); NHS – https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/euthanasia-and-assisted-suicide/ (last access: 11 December 2023).
N: 1. 1640s, “a gentle and easy death,” from Greek euthanasia “an easy or happy death,” from eu- “good” (see eu-) + thanatos “death” (see thanatology) + abstract noun ending -ia. Slightly earlier in Englished form euthanasy (1630s). Sense of “legally sanctioned mercy killing” is recorded in English by 1869.
2. Act or practice of painlessly putting to death persons suffering from painful and incurable disease or incapacitating physical disorder or allowing them to die by withholding treatment or withdrawing artificial life-support measures. Because there is no specific provision for it in most legal systems, it is usually regarded as either suicide (if performed by the patient himself) or murder (if performed by another). Physicians may, however, lawfully decide not to prolong life in cases of extreme suffering, and they may administer drugs to relieve pain even if this shortens the patient’s life. In the late 20th century, several European countries had special provisions in their criminal codes for lenient sentencing and the consideration of extenuating circumstances in prosecutions for euthanasia.
3. The opinion that euthanasia is morally permissible is traceable to Socrates, Plato, and the Stoics. It is rejected in traditional Christian belief, chiefly because it is thought to contravene the prohibition of murder in the Ten Commandments. The organized movement for legalization of euthanasia commenced in England in 1935, when C. Killick Millard founded the Voluntary Euthanasia Legalisation Society (later called the Euthanasia Society). The society’s bill was defeated in the House of Lords in 1936, as was a motion on the same subject in the House of Lords in 1950. In the United States the Euthanasia Society of America was founded in 1938.
4. Medical and Hospital Organization; Health Law; Ethics and Morals: An act that involves deliberately causing the death of another person [at his or her request,] to put an end to that person’s suffering.
5. Veterinary Medicine: The act or practice of killing individuals (as … domestic animals) that are hopelessly sick or injured for reasons of mercy.
Euthanasia as administered by a competent veterinarian is completely painless.
6. Cultural Interrelation: A Merciful End. The Euthanasia Movement in Modern America (2003). Book by Ian Dowbiggin.
S: 1. Etymonline – https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=euthanasia (last access: 11 December 2023). 2 & 3. EncBrit – https://www.britannica.com/topic/euthanasia (last access: 11 December 2023). 4 & 5. TERMIUM PLUS – https://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca/tpv2alpha/alpha-eng.html?lang=eng&i=1&srchtxt=EUTANASIA&codom2nd_wet=1#resultrecs (last access: 11 December 2023). 6. OUP – https://global.oup.com/academic/product/a-merciful-end-9780195154436?cc=es&lang=en& (last access: 11.12.2023).
SYN:
S:
CR: brain death, coma.
