Euthanasia: Issues of Society and the Acceptance of Suicide and Voluntary Death

"Has any one supposed it lucky to be born?
I hasten to inform him or her it is just as lucky to die, and I
know it."

-Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass.

Introduction:

One political and social issue that consumes Americans today is the right to decide one's own fate, or that of someone else. This topic divides into multiple subtopics, including euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide, and assisted suicide. Is it possible to regulate death? Is it not worse, in some cases, for a person to continue living than it would be if he or she were to die? Most people associate melancholy and pain with death. Thus, the majority of modern legislature is more negatively inclined towards the possibility that more pain might be brought by continuing life than by ending it. However, in recent times, a new trend has developed that moves in the direction of a more positive view of mortality. The presiding conflict within all three of these issues is with regards to whose right it is to determine whether or not a person should continue to live.

Literature Review: