INTRODUCTION Euthanasia is the practice of having a medically-assisted death.

It is an act of either painlessly causing the death or failing to prevent death from occurring from natural causes in an individual with a terminal illness or in an irreversible coma. The term is derived from the Greek words eus (good) and thanatos (death). Although advances in medical technology have made it possible to prolong the life of patients with no hope of recovery, at times the quality of life of the terminally ill individual is called into question.thus arouse the idea for mercy killing.still it is illegal in most countries. it is a controversial subject, not only because there are many different moral dilemmas associated with it, but also in what constitutes its definition. At the extreme ends of disagreement, advocates say euthanasia, is a merciful method of death. At the other end are opponents of euthanasia, who may consider this method as a form of murder

Euthanasia may be conducted with consent (voluntary euthanasia) or without consent (involuntary euthanasia). Since involuntary euthanasia is conducted without an individual's specifically given acquiescence, in the opinion of some this equates involuntary euthanasia to murder. Involuntary euthanasia may be conducted when the person is incapable of making a decision and it is thus left to a proxy. Euthanasia by proxy consent is highly controversial, especially because multiple proxies may claim the authority to decide for the patient.euthansia can be passive or active. The term
"negative" or "passive euthanasia" is used to describe the practice of withholding or withdrawing extraordinary means of preserving life or the distribution of a medication (such as morphine) to relieve pain, knowing that it may also result in death. Passive euthanasia is the most accepted form, and it is a common practice in most hospitals The term "positive" or "active euthanasia" involves any direct intervention to cause death, such as injecting a lethal drug or participating in a form of assisted suicide in which another person provides the means for the patient to die.

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Euthanasia and the Law

Euthanasia is viewed variedly in different nations.it is quite a complex issue and people have different opinions on this.it finds wide acceptance frm those who are more open minded and humane.whereas its unthinkable for a large section sticking to the concepts of life and death laid down in religious texts. Thus the nations follow different policies on euthanasia. Many countries have laws that carry stiff penalties for those found guilty of assisting suicide.whereas European countries like newzealand,Holland, Belgium and Switzerland, being more open minded, have legalized this practice as an act of compassion and mercy Under the "euthanasia" concept prevalent in these countries such terminally
ill patients are allowed to die by injecting them with lethal doses or by withdrawing the life support systems.

mercy killing is not being legalized only for the reason that people may misuse ths.Family persons may try to kill the eldest person on the name of mercy killing to get the property of the family.---To prevent misuse of mercy killing,it is not being legalized.
CAMPAIGNS

in those countries where laws are stringent, efforts are going on to change govnt policies on euthanasia.a variety of NGOs and medical associations are advocating for the cause of the terminally ill patients and humanity. THE MOVEMENT TO make assisted death legal
has often been called the right-to-die movement. propagandists ask for the right of patients to have some control over the time and manner of their death A move on the part of kerala law reforms commission can be cited as an example.the Kerala Law Reforms Commission , headed by Justice VR Krishna Iyer, has
presented a proposal, which recommends that euthanasia or mercy killing should be made legal in the state. The proposal says that the victim of suffering and his closest relatives, after taking responsible medical opinion about the irrecoverability of pain-free normality, gets the right to euthanasia. The panel suggested that mercy killing should be carried out with the written sanction of three state-recognized doctors certifying that the patient under consideration is a fit case for euthanasia. The recommendations of the panel to legalize mercy killing or euthanasia are direct violation of the right to live guaranteed by the Constitution. The panel opines right to live also means the right to live in dignity, good health, secure medical aid and relief from distress.Commission says in the proposal that mercy killing could be considered in cases where death is the only salvation and preservation of life would be medically impossible and visited with insufferable physical or mental pain

DOCTOR-ASSISTED SUICIDE
assisted death: Any form of hastening a person's death, at his or her request, for the purpose of ending suffering, including physician-assisted suicide, euthanasia (in its narrower meaning), and, possibly, ending of life-sustaining medical treatment. he campaigned fora death with dignity

Mention the term "euthanasia," and the first thing most people think of is the epic assisted suicide battle of the 1990s starring Jack "Doctor Death" Kevorkian.

dr jack Kevorkian made headlines internationally when he undertook a well publicized assisted-suicide campaign between 1990 and 1998 that reportedly ended the lives of approximately one hundred thirty people. Some of those whose deaths Kevorkian facilitated were terminally ill and diagnosed as having less than six months to live, but most were disabled or chronically ill. got him convicted for murder and a sentence of 1025 years in prison in Michigan, USA.So, if there is no reasonable medical expectation of any recovery from a physical or mental disability and one is dying of great pain and

distress and asked for his life to be ended gracefully and mercifully and the request is granted him, does that constitute MURDER? A website FreeAdvise.com defines murder as the act of killing another human being with malice, traditionally called malice aforethought. Malice is defined as the intent to kill or to inflict bodily injury, either expressed or implied. If a deadly weapon is used, intent to kill will necessarily be implied by a court of law. Nowhere is the doctor-assisted suicide and euthanasia even come close to the definition of murder.
REASONS FOR VOLUNTARY EUTHANASIA

Mercy killing shd be legalized only in specific cases where the patient is terminally ill and his suffering and agony cant be lessened by medicines or treatment For terminally ill patients Aids/hiv patients If weve right to live weve right to die he himself has no desire to live the agonising life.... incurable disease in some cases the apparatus' on which critical patients are kept alive cost a big amount to the family of the patient....in such cases also...if we know that the money which the family spends on their loved ones isn't anyways goin to save their lives then why not let the family use that money for some other constructive purposes the result will be same ..only in this case it will be sooner

"Every individual has a fundamental freedom to choose not to live and particularly so under distressing conditions of ill-health which lead to an unremediable state," the organisation stated in its application.

The pain and suffering a person feels during a disease, even with pain relievers, can be incomprehensible to a person who has not gone through it. Even without considering the physical pain, it is often difficult for patients to overcome the emotional pain of losing their independence. [1] Moreover, despite modern painkillers, there is little available to deal with the problem of 'breathlessness', which makes many ailing patients feel they will suffocate. [17] Economic costs and human resources: Today in many countries there is a shortage of hospital space. The energy of doctors and hospital beds could be used for people whose lives could be saved instead of continuing the life of those who want to die which increases the general quality of care and shortens hospital waiting lists.

Reasons given against voluntary euthanasia:

Many people support the right of a terminally ill patient to die - but what if the right becomes an obligation??? And what of the potential for abuse by impatient heirs???

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killing is not being legalized only for the reason that people may misuse

ths.Families may force the eldest person to accept a lethal injection for financial reasons.It is a bad idea, especially for the elderly. They may be deliberately victimised ther is also concern that patients may experience psychological pressure
to consent to voluntary euthanasia rather than be a financial burden on their families.
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Even where health costs are mostly covered by public moneys, as in

various European countries, VE critics are concerned that hospital personnel would have an economic incentive to advise or pressure people toward euthanasia consent.

Others worry that the law could coerce people with disabilities into suicide. "Financial pressures motivate too many important health care decisions,".
Opponents argue that active euthanasia brings with it the risk that society may become more tolerant of killing, eventually making involuntary killing and killing for societal convenience acceptable.

Opponents also charge that "right to die" laws unfairly target women, minorities and the poor. Some critics say that women and minorities are quicker than others to feel like a financial or emotional burden to their families, and may be more easily persuaded to end their lives. doctors can get things wrong, and worries that the "right to die" will translate to premature suicide.

What these stories overlook is that today, in almost all cases, it is possible to kill pain without killing the patient. When someone's pain is relieved that person usually wants to go on living.

NO SPUR TO SUICIDE
In the debate over physician-assisted suicide, opponents have long argued that legalizing it could lead to disproportionately high suicide rates in vulnerable patients. But a new study published in the October 2007 issue of the Journal of Medical Ethics suggests that this concern is more fear than fact The 10 vulnerable groups identified in the study were women, the elderly, the uninsured, the less educated, the poor, racial and ethnic minorities, the physically disabled and chronically ill, people with psychiatric illness, minors and AIDS patients. With the exception of the AIDS patients, no group had a higher than normal risk of seeking or being administered lethal drugs. Margaret Battin, lead author of the study and a professor of philosophy at the University of Utah, says that although her study is the first of its kind, the results didn't surprise her. "It's not actually news to people who really pay attention," says Battin, who has worked with a pro-legalization group. "For proponents who favor legalization, it is important because it shows that [this question] that is a central concern for everyone could this be damaging for a vulnerable group? has no basis in fact." For opponents, she says, it should help alleviate their fears that health care systems put these groups at risk the reasoning behind euthanasia and doctor-assisted suicide is built on a social prejudice against handicap and illness, which posits that it's better to die than to need physical assistance in life. We think the culture of dying ought to be changed, but it should be changed in such a way that [the terminally ill] are not abandoned by the community
CONCLUSION
. Mercy killing should be legalized on humanitarian grounds.

We need to reflect carefully on the

consequences of legalizing active euthanasia

you can't live in a perfect world," he says. "But why should anyone be denied the choice to end their life if they want to?" if terminally ill and in pain, they would want to be made unconscious even if it hastened death. "A painful or prolonged death is something everyone worries about.give people the "right to die" through physician-assisted suicide.allow doctors to prescribe lethal doses of narcotics to terminally ill patients who want to end their own lives
It is often overlooked that patients have the common law right to refuse any medical treatment. However, if experts are to be believed, euthanasia is secretly practised in most hospitals in India.

Supreme Court Senior Advocate, Colin Gonsalves says, "Mercy killing is done all the time. It is one of the best kept secrets of Indian hospitals. Patients and families do it, doctors do it. It's time the law catches up with this reality. But law should regulate it so that its not misused."