Euthanasia: mercy killing or murder? We, as human beings, are mortal beings. Our lifespan is finite. Even though we are mortal, we try to hold on to our life as long as possible; the fear of death and the desire to live forever are, after all, part of human nature. Sometimes, however, the field of medicine capitalizes on this aspect of humanity. While it is certainly true that one of the goals of medicine has always been to prolong life, another goal has been to relieve pain and suffering. One place where these two views clash concerns the hotly debated issue of euthanasia. Euthanasia, or "mercy killing" as it has been called, is certainly not a two-sided issue. There are many shades of gray involved, so to speak. Euthanasia, after all, ranges from simply allowing an individual to die naturally without life support or "pulling the plug" (passive euthanasia), to Jack Kevorkian's suicide machine (active euthanasia). To further complicate things there is also voluntary euthanasia, "cases in which the patient asks to be killed and dies due to the action taken by another person", involuntary euthanasia; "cases in which no action is requested because the patient is unconscious, senile, or otherwise incapable of making a request, but the person is left to die or is killed", and non-voluntary euthanasia; "cases in which a conscious, terminally ill patient declares that he does not want to die, but can die or is killed anyway" (http://valdosta.peachnet.edu). While an individual may support one form of euthanasia, it is not uncommon for the same person to be completely against another form. There are cases where euthanasia is wrong, especially cases involving feared and conscious events that humans must ever face. This is probably the main reason why euthanasia is so controversial. It's human nature to try to prolong our lives as long as possible, and through medicine, we've extended it quite a bit. It is important to remember, however, that sometimes, as we try to fight death, our common enemy, we lose sight of the interests of the people whose lives we are affecting. Aren't these people the most qualified people to make this decision? After all, it is their lives that hang in the balance.Works Cited"Murder" American Heritage Dictionary on CD-ROM, 1991.Internet: Http://www.ieatf.org.McCord, William.Internet: Http:/ /valdosta. peachnet.edu."Moral dilemmas." Company July 29-August 1992: 22.Pallone, Nathaniel. Society 29 July-August 1992: 35.