The term euthanasia is not new to the twentieth century. Even in ancient societies, terminally ill people requested to have their lives ended; though the meaning of euthanasia for them differed from its meaning today. The English word euthanasia is taken from the Greek eu thanatos "good or easy death." However today it is given a different meaning, because of the social and moral issues it touches. In the present day the term euthanasia is associated with the act of mercifully (although some might argue this point) ending the life of a hopelessly suffering patient with his or her consent. If the patient is incompetent, then the closest living relatives have the power to make "substitute judgment" - the guardian or surrogate "attempts to reach the decision that the incapacitated person would make if he or she were able to choose" (Quinn 289-290). The term "incompetent patient" refers to a condition in which a patient lacks the capacity to make substantially autonomous decisions about......

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Title: Euthanasia
Approximate Word Count: 819
Approximate Pages: 4 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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