Euthanasia

We have all heard of Dr. Kevorkian, the physician- assisted suicide activist. So many people were in an uproar about his actions. They claimed he was playing God. That he was getting away with murder. The state of Michigan tried to create legislature to prevent Dr. Kevorkian from helping others die. Dr. Kevorkian's reason for assisting others in suicide was that he acted for others because he felt that "people have a right to decide when to end their lives" (Munson 704). A juror that sat on one of his trials said, "I don't feel it's our obligation to choose for someone else how much pain and suffering they can go through. That's between them and their God." (Munson 704). Others believe that Dr. Kevorkian was acting as an angel of mercy. Euthanasia, as defined by Munson, is the act of causing death painlessly so as to end suffering. The majority of people do not deliberate about euthanasia and the moral legitimacy that it has or does not have until they are forced to make a decision about someone they love. An issue that will arise in any euthanasia debate is: euthanasia is murder. Or is it mercy?

Recently on the news we saw the pain and suffering in the