WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Euthanasia, also known as mercy killing, is the act or practice of killing hopelessly sick or injured individuals as painlessly as possible for reasons of mercy.
It is also the act or practice of allowing a hopelessly sick or injured patient to die by taking less than complete medical measures to prolong life.
Laws on euthanasia differ from country to country.
In Montana and New Mexico, physician-assisted suicide became legal via court ruling, according to the Pros and Cons Controversial Issues nonprofit public charity.
Thirty-nine US states have laws that prohibit assisted suicide, while Alabama, Massachusetts, West Virginia and Washington, DC prohibit the practice by common law.
Four US states, however, including Nevada, North Carolina, Utah and Wyoming have “no specific laws” on the legality of the practice of euthanasia.
In January 2015, the California Legislature introduced SB-128 End of Life Legislation that would allow an adult who meets certain qualifications and determined by his or her physical to be diagnosed with a terminal illness-to be allowed to end his or her life.
Although the California legislation has yet be enacted into law, amendments are expected to be finalized on it by next week, according to local media reports.
The push for the California legislation was significantly influenced by 29-year-old San Francisco native Brittany Maynard’s campaign to make aid in dying a more accessible medical option for terminally ill patients.
Because Maynard could not claim her own life in California, she moved to Oregon and died in November 2014 after using a lethal prescription.
In Europe, euthanasia is legal in The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.
