of euthanasia. The outcome of that debate will profoundly affect family relationships, interaction between doctors and patients, and concepts of basic ethical behavior. With so much at stake, more is needed than a duel of one-liners, slogans and sound bites. Euthanasia is a rapidly growing social problem. The opinions on this topic are influenced by different groups and beliefs, such as religion, culture, governmental standards, and personal beliefs causing euthanasia to become a major social problem in the world today.. Euthanasia has been an intense issue all over the world causing a constant debate among differing opinions. Oregon and the Netherlands have legalized euthanasia giving permission to the physician for the intentional killing by act or omission of a dependent human being for his or her alleged benefit.

Purely at an objective point of view, euthanasia is definitely considered a social

problem. Euthanasia is defined by The American Heritage Dictionary as "the action of

killing an individual for reasons considered to be merciful". Here, killing is described as

the physical action where one individual actively kills

In conclusion, Euthanasia has become more than ever a very heated debate. It is a Greek word that means "easy death" but the controversy surrounding it is just the opposite. Whether the issue is refusing prolonged life mechanically, assisting suicide, or active euthanasia, we eventually confront our society's fears toward death itself. Above others, our culture breeds fear and dread of aging and dying. It is not easy for most of the western world to see death as an inevitable part of life. However, the issues that surround euthanasia are not only about death, they are about ones liberty, right to privacy and control over his or her own body. So, the question remains: Who has the right?

the medical field under certain circumstances when a patient is suffering profoundly and

Different up bringings and beliefs show a different outcome in opinions. In March of 2000, The Zogby poll asked: "If you had a disease that was fatal, and was causing great pain and discomfort, which of the following courses of action would you prefer: Physician assisted suicide or euthanasia, wait and let nature take its course, or not sure?" according to the Zogby poll, only one-in-three Americans, if stricken with a painful terminal disease, would prefer assisted suicide or euthanasia than letting natu

Some common words found in the essay are:
Supreme Court, Heritage Dictionary, , Oregon Netherlands, assisted suicide, refuse treatment, assisted suicide euthanasia, zogby poll, nature course, suicide euthanasia, death inevitable, terminal disease,
Approximate Word count = 868
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)