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Euthanasia

The putting to death, by painless method, of a terminally-ill or severely debilitated person through the omission (intentionally withholding a life-saving medical procedure, also known as 'passive euthanasia') or commission of an act ('active euthanasia').

Historically, euthaniasia was simply known as the bringing upon of a gentle and easy death as in: "At her age, no one could have hoped for your mother anything but ... euthanasia" (1768, Burke).

In 1873, an article published in Oxford University's Contemporary Review opined, in words eerily applicable today:

"Mankind at different stages of culture differ utterly as to the morality of suicide and euthanasian homicide."

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Unless otherwise noted, this article was written by Lloyd Duhaime, Barrister, Solicitor, Attorney and Lawyer (and Notary Public!). It is not intended to be legal advice and you would be foolhardy to rely on it in respect to any specific situation you or an acquaintance may be facing. In addition, the law changes rapidly and sometimes with little notice so from time to time, an article may not be up to date. Therefore, this is merely legal information designed to educate the reader. If you have a real situation, this information will serve as a good springboard to get legal advice from a lawyer.

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