Euthanasia under Nigerian Law — A Call for Change
Abstract
Sometimes, keeping a sick person alive at all costs may not be kind gesture. The terminally ill, suffering pain and having no prospect of improving may consider help with ending their lives an act of mercy.1
What Euthanasia is?
"Euthanasia" literally means "gentle and easy death" but has come to be interpreted by some as mercy killing".2 The word originated from the Greek language: eu means "good" and thanatos means "death".3
Over the ages various definitions have been proffered for euthanasia. In one vein euthanasia has been defined as the intentional termination of life by another at the explicit request of the person who dies.4
The Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary (INS) Edition defines euthanasia as:
"the practice of killing, without pain, a person who is suffering from a disease that cannot be cured or from extreme old age, so that he or she can die with dignity."
