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Euthanasia Euthanasia, which means "good" or "peaceful" death, has been practiced through the ages. Doctors have always been dedicated to the task of easing pain and suffering, to make dying easier. Adding the adjective "active" alters the meaning of euthanasia. The emphasis shifts from comforting the dying to inducing death. The practice of voluntary euthanasia and assisted suicide would cause society to devalue all life, especially the lives of the dying, the disabled, and the …

…written, rules against killing "are not isolated moral principles," but "pieces of a web of rules" that forms a moral code. "The more threads one removes the weaker the fabric becomes." Allowing ourselves the liberty of choosing the time and place of death will not lessen our sense of loss. It can only erode the wonder of human life and the worth of each individual. Wekesser, Carol, ed. Euthanasia: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1995.