Euthanasia, sometimes called "mercy killing", might mean different things to different people.

The word euthanasia is derived from two Greek words which mean "a good death":  eu, well, and thanatos, death. In the current debate, euthanasia means the intentional bringing about of the death of a person, by a direct act or by neglect of reasonable care, out of a motive of compassion. It is different from other forms of homicide because it is motivated by compassion.

The term is usually used in a medical context, referring to the killing of patients by doctors, often but not always by lethal injection.

What euthanasia is

Euthanasia is intentional killing. It can be done by a direct act, such as a lethal injection or a deliberately lethal dosage of drugs; this is known as active euthanasia. It can also be done by the denial of reasonable care’, including the basic needs of food and water. This is known as euthanasia by omission or neglect, where the patient dies of starvation or dehydration, or by being denied something else which should reasonably be provided to them.

What euthanasia isn’t

Patients have a right to refuse treatment, not only if the patient feels it will not be of benefit, but also if the treatment has "unduly burdensome consequences for the patient" - for example if the treatment is physically or spiritually taxing, or prevents one from achieving certain important goals. A common example of this is cases where a cancer patient refuses chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy can potentially prolong the life of the patient, but it can also have extremely unpleasant side effects. If the patient dies, the doctor cannot be accused of killing them by not treating with chemotherapy - it is the cancer that has caused their death. Similarly if a terminally ill and competent patient contracts pneumonia, that person has the right to refuse antibiotic treatment.

Much public support for euthanasia is based on a fear of being forced to remain on a life-support machine, and many people believe that euthanasia is about "switching off machines". But a life-support machine is an artificial mechanism. If turned off and the patient dies, it is the underlying disease that causes their death. A competent patient who expresses a wish to reject all medical treatment, from antibiotics to blood transfusions to life-support machines, has a legal right to do so. This has been clearly accepted as morally and legally permissible, and the issue is not controversial.

Different categories/types of euthanasia

Debates about euthanasia often involve the use of emotionally-charged terms such as mercy killing, death with dignity, deliverance and so on. It is important to understand the meanings of euthanasia and the various types of euthanasia that people may refer to. But in all types of euthanasia, intentional killing is involved.

The different categories or types of euthanasia are: Voluntary euthanasia, non-voluntary euthanasia and involuntary euthanasia.

Voluntary euthanasia

Voluntary euthanasia refers to euthanasia in cases where the patient has expressed a wish to be killed. Many euthanasia advocates prefer to use this term because they believe that voluntary euthanasia can be kept separate from other acts of euthanasia - for example involuntary or non-voluntary euthanasia.

Non-voluntary euthanasia

This refers to killing a patient, supposedly in that person’s own interests, but where the person is either not in a position to have, or not in a position to express, any view on the matter. This might happen to people who the doctors or relatives think may have "lives worse than death".

Examples of this might be babies born with terrible abnormalities, or adults who are senile, blind and deaf, or totally paralysed.

Involuntary euthanasia

Involuntary euthanasia is a concept that is particularly disturbing to most people. It refers to euthanasia in cases when the patient either did not request death at all, when he or she was in a position to make such a request, or when the patient had specifically rejected euthanasia.

This means the killing of a person, supposedly in that person’s own interests, in disregard of that person’s own view. Or that person might be killed without taking the trouble to find out their view. The important factor is that the person has the capacity to express wishes, but those wishes are overridden.

Assisted suicide

Assisted suicide refers to the provision of a causative agent (usually a medication, but perhaps for example a carbon monoxide tank or plastic bag) to a patient, with the intention that the patient will use the agent to commit suicide. Physician-assisted suicide specifically refers to cases where a doctor provides the means for the patient to kill themselves, usually medication. See our separate page on Assisted Suicide.

Ethical concerns

All types of euthanasia are intrinsically unethical: i.e. always and everywhere wrong, in and of themselves.

Euthanasia violates the right to life. Everyone has the right to life, and this right is to be protected by law. The right to life is inviolable - it cannot be taken from a person -and inalienable - a person cannot give it away.

Euthanasia rejects the basis of just laws - that everyone is equal. The so-called right to die will become a duty to die. Euthanasia undermines the role of doctors and the practice of medicine.

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