Which statement best describes euthanasia?

• A. Ending a person’s life to relieve suffering in vegetative states or terminal illness.
• B. Withholding life-sustaining treatment in all circumstances.
• C. Euthanasia is never practiced.
• D. Ending life should always be illegal.

Answer: (D)

Euthanasia is the intentional act of ending a person's life to relieve suffering, usually in the setting of terminal illness or unrelievable pain. Describing euthanasia this way highlights the deliberate action taken to end life in order to relieve distress. Withholding or withdrawing life-sustaining treatment is related but not euthanasia, because it involves not providing care or letting disease take its course rather than actively causing death. Statements that euthanasia is never practiced or that ending life should always be illegal are ethical or legal positions, not definitions of what euthanasia itself means.