Translated from ancient Greek "euthanasia" means "good death", i.e. death, bringing relief. Many countries discuss the ethical issues of intentional killing out of pity, the possibility of abuse of the right to euthanasia, and medical error.
Instruction manual
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The term "euthanasia" has Greek roots in vain: Hellenic warriors finished off their mortally wounded comrades on the battlefield in order to end their suffering. The wounded man had to die with a smile on his lips - this was called "die like Hellenes." The practice of killing children with abnormalities in ancient Sparta is widely known. There is evidence of ethnographers about the custom of killing sick children and feeble old people among the primitive peoples of Oceania and the Far North even in the 19th century.
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Currently, passive and active euthanasia are distinguished. Active euthanasia consists in the use of special means that lead to quick, painless death, passive - in refusing to fight to save the lives of terminally ill patients.
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At the beginning of the 20th century, active euthanasia was practiced in some European countries. Nazi Germany, where the mass extermination of large groups of people began with the forced euthanasia of the mentally ill, has become a prime example of how the right to easy death can be realized. As a result, euthanasia was banned throughout the civilized world. Again voluntary death for terminally ill patients experiencing severe suffering was legalized in 1984 in the Netherlands. Then euthanasia was allowed throughout Benelux.
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In 2002, a law on euthanasia for children over 12 years old was passed in the Netherlands, and in March 2014 Belgium allowed a mild death for children without age restrictions. In the Netherlands, euthanasia was applied to 8 adolescents during the duration of the law.
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In Switzerland, euthanasia is permitted in the canton of Zurich, with the world's most liberal law governing voluntary death. Thanks to this, "suicidal tourism" flourishes in Zurich. Terminally ill people from all over the world travel to Zurich clinics to receive a lethal injection that will end their suffering.
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Euthanasia is permitted in 4 US states: Washington, Vermont, Georgia and Oregon. But in the state of Michigan he was sentenced to life imprisonment and died in prison as a pathologist doctor Gevorgyan, nicknamed "Dr. Death." He sent to the next world 130 people who turned to him with the corresponding request.
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At the same time, passive euthanasia is legalized in some countries. Coma patients can be disconnected from life support equipment at the will of the patients themselves, announced in advance, at the request of their relatives or by court order in the USA, Germany, Switzerland, Israel, Mexico, Sweden, Benelux countries.
