Advances in medical science have helped extend the quantity and the quality of life. Paradoxically, by extending the lives of terminally ill patients, those advances have created a raging debate about euthanasia. Many argue that just because we can keep certain people alive does not necessarily mean that we should keep them alive. This paper will examine the morality of euthanasia.

Euthanasia is defined as the action of inducing the painless death of a person for reasons assumed to be merciful (Morris, 1980, p. 453). That broad definition covers three different situations. Passive euthanasia occurs when a patient’s life support equipment is turned off, when food or water is …