The evolution of the concept of euthanasia

KIM SEUNG-JUNG
The author is a professor of archaeology at the University of Toronto.

Along with Australia, Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands, Canada is one of the few countries that have legalized active euthanasia. The aggressive euthanasia refers to directly inducing death by injecting drugs, unlike passive euthanasia, which involves stopping life-sustaining treatment. Active euthanasia is still illegal in most European and North American countries as well as Korea. Even at the request of a patient, a murder charge can be applied to the person wh provides assistance.

Six of the eight countries allowing active euthanasia recognize pain from mental illness or disability as a qualifying condition. Especially in the Netherlands, the first country to allow euthanasia in 1942, dozens to 100 patients with mental illness die every year by euthanasia. Because most of them failed to kill themselves several times, they are compared to patients with a terminal illness. But controversy continues as patients with mental illnesses rarely receive proper treatment.

The term “euthanasia,” derived from ancient Greece, is a combination of “eu” (good) and “thanotos” (death), literally meaning “a good death,” but the original meaning is premised on natural death. According to the Hippocratic Oath, euthanasia of any kind is strictly prohibited. The value of life must have been precious since the death rate was high at the time due to constant wars. When a young man at his physical peak was killed in action, it was called a “beautiful death.” Greeks thought the warrior was loved by the gods and would be remembered forever in their most beautiful form.

The tragic death of Achilles, who knew about his fate, or the story of Kleobis and Biton, the twins to whom Hera gave death as a gift in response to their mother’s prayer for glory, show an aspect of the Greek culture that tried to enhance the dignity of death through mythology. This is not about encouraging death, but a desperate effort to find the meaning of life in the face of the inevitability of death surrounding them.