- Euthanasia (from the Greek word εὐθανασία meaning "good death") refers to the practice of ending a life in a manner which relieves pain and suffering.
- In 1984, the Dutch Supreme Court declared euthanasia to be legal.
- The word "euthanasia" was first used in a medical context by Francis Bacon in the seventeenth century.
- In 1990, nine percent of all deaths in the Netherlands were a result of physician-assisted suicide or euthanasia.
- Voluntary euthanasia is legal in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland.
- In the United States medical-assisted suicide in legal only in the states of Washington and Oregon.
- In 2002, Belgium legalized euthanasia.
- A study in the United States came to the result that approximately 16 percent of physicians would ever consider halting life-sustaining therapy because the family demands it.
Some facts about euthanasia
