Abstract:
Euthanasia is one of the controversial issues discussed in medical ethics .Ethical issues in the
medical field are invariably accompanied by legal issues, and the typical causes include societal
and professional misconduct .Euthanasia can be defined as the intentional killing of a dependent
human being for their benefit .A patient might have an incurable disease and ask his doctor to
stop the treatment which is keeping him alive, which causes a conflict between autonomy and
non-maleficence .According to the Hippocratic Oath, doctors are not allowed to let patients die
even if they were in serious situation .The intent of this paper is to examine the ethical issues
related to euthanasia in a philosophical context .Sub objectives of this study are to find out why
euthanasia should be allowed and why euthanasia should be forbidden.
Research methodology used in this study was largely based on qualitative approach which
analyses the relevant documentary sources from books, journals and web sites relating to this
area .A descriptive research design was applied in this study .There are several types of
Euthanasia such as active and passive euthanasia, voluntary and involuntary euthanasia, indirect
euthanasia and assisted suicide .Egoism and utilitarianism are two moral theories that apply to
euthanasia and both theories can be used to support and oppose the moral dilemma of
euthanasia. Findings shows that practicing euthanasia has a lot of undesirable and harmful
outcomes. It is virtually an act helping people die. It promotes abuse, gives doctors the right to
murder and is contradictory to religious beliefs.
