I would like to begin by defining the issue of the article by Patrick Nowell-Smith. The issue of his article is legalizing euthanasia and giving people a right to decide when and how to die.

What is euthanasia and why is it such a complex matter that raises all different kinds of opinions? According to the American Dictionary, euthanasia is defined as "the act or practice of ending the life of an individual suffering from a terminal illness or an incurable condition, as by lethal injection or the suspension of extraordinary medical treatment." It can be active euthanasia (relieve person from pain by killing) or passive euthanasia (letting die). Newell-Smith raises the questions if the person has a right to die when he/she wants to and how he/she wants to especially if suffering from terminal disease accompanied with excruciating pain. Since most of painless ways of dying involves assistance, Nowell-Smith states that the person has a very limited right to die when chooses so. He believes that person must have a right to die at a time and manner of his/her choice and that there is no moral difference between passive and active euthanasia.

Another good argument against Nowell-Smith saying that people should decide when they want to end their lives is by Harrison who is saying that the decision could be brought by emotions, which is probably often the case, but emotions are not a good base for rational judgment.

Nowell-Smith arrives at above conclusion by looking at three reasons for euthanasia should not be permitted and setting pros and cons against them hoping that reasons against will be stronger for reader. The reasons are: religious, moral and practical. He takes a detailed look at the last two reasons because there is not much to say about the first one except that God is given us lives and he is the only one who has a right to take is away. Nowell-Smith believes it's not reasonable to prohibit euthanasia solely on these grounds.

Considering the points summarized above I believe that Nowell-Smith is in favor of legalizing euthanasia and he believes that changes in law are urgent and people deserve the right to decide when and how to die. He provides strong arguments in his article, enough for a reader who doesn't have a strong opinion to agree with the writer. But after reading some other articles and looking around the website www.euthanasia.com I found some weak arguments in Nowell-Smith's article and arguments against them. Also some of the issues like physician's role in assisting suicide and social impact of euthanasia he didn't analyze even though these are very important issues.

The issue of euthanasia is very complicated, both sides have strong arguments and I don't' think that consensus will ever be reached. A lot of people have different experiences, different lives and points of view. A lot of debates and research is going on but every person have his own moral, religious and practical standards and beliefs and I don't' believe that by having a certain point of view one can change his to the opposite easily.

James Rachels in his article Active and Passive Euthanasia shares Nowell-Smith point of no difference between passive and active euthanasia. He says: "Part of my point is that the process of being 'allowed to die' can be relatively slow and painful, whereas being give a lethal injection is relatively quick and painless." (CMI, p.18) We can compare it to the war, when one person could kill another out of pity if he was dying out of serious wound and no help was around. During the war this would be considered a merciful act so

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Approximate Word count = 1654
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)