Euthanasia in any one of its forms is the deliberate ending of life or the hastening of death at the instance of the patient. Over the last few years, Euthanasia or more specifically assisted suicide has become a much-debated topic not only in the medical circles but also in the legal and the social domains. When we look into the topic of mercy killing we find that it is the 'fear factor' that underlies both the sides of the issue of the debate. From the patients perspective it is the fear of unbearable pain that cannot be assuaged, the embarrassment of dependence and the feeling of worthlessness and loss of self-love from the other angle we have a fear of doctors and nurses and the possibility of the abuse of the power. However, currently there are some countries (Netherlands, Oregon in US) where assisted suicide is legalized and practiced. Let us analyze this issue in a little detail and look into the ethical, social, medical aspects and in particular the nursing perspective to this highly controversial issue.
             Euthanasia is a combination of two Greek words Eu (easy, painless or happy) and 'thanatos' meaning death. So the essential meaning of the term Euthanasia is pain free and happy end to life. So Euthanasia is the term for the act of delivering the suffering patient from his troubles by putting him to death. In other words it is nothing but physician assisted suicide (PAS). [Michigan Technological University]. There are basically two different forms of Euthanasia namely Active or Passive Euthanasia and Voluntary or involuntary Euthanasia.
             Passive Euthanasia is the case where the patient is left to himself without providing any treatment to restore or stabilize his vital life functions. Typical of this type of Euthanasia is the withdrawal of life support devices. On the other hand, active Euthanasia is a case where the patient is put to death by means of administering some lethal dosage. (Such as s...