What is euthanasia?

While some define euthanasia as a good practise of inferring a painless death, others define it as the painless killing of a person suffering from an incurable disease. Generally, euthanasia is the act of assisting a person to die fast or killing a person for a reason of helping him/her.

Definition of euthanasia mostly focuses in modern times, and one is left with the belief that euthanasia is a practise of modern times. This is totally wrong. The practise of euthanasia has existed since time immemorial. The only difference is the way it was practiced then and the way it is practiced now.

Traditional Euthanasia

Traditional euthanasia was practiced in two ways:

(a) As a tradition: This was mostly practised in African communities. Most traditional African communities lived beside huge forests, and they believed that their gods lived in these forests. During acute drought seasons, they could offer animal sacrifices to the gods to appease them to let the rains come. These forests were revered and it was not usual for any community member to venture into such a forest without any purpose. At times, a community member who committed a crime that was considered abominable and the whole community could be affected was promptly sent to the forest to meet with the gods. Such a member never returned. Whether they were attacked and eaten by wild or it is the gods who devoured them nobody knows. This was a clear involuntary euthanasia. Another instance when such community practiced euthanasia is when a community member was very sick and the community's medicine men had ruled out any chance of survival. The sick person was taken deep into the forest to either die or get well and return home. This was a tradition and had to be kept.

(b) At times of war: Ancient communities the world over engaged in acts of war with their neighbouring or far distant communities. During the war, a community warrior could be seriously hurt. He could ask a fellow warrior to assist him end his life so that the enemy do not get him alive and take him as a prisoner of war. Alternatively, on noticing that one of his warriors was seriously injured and could not make it beyond the battle field, the community's warrior leader could order the killing of such an injured warrior to save him from the agony of pain and cruel treatment he might receive if caught alive by the enemy warriors. This was a pure act of euthanasia. It is indeed interesting to note that this practice still exists within the modern armies, the only addition being that an injured solder decides to take his/her own life to save him/herself from the enemy or be a burden to his/her troops.

It is now clear that the act of euthanasia is not modern as depicted by medical literature. It was there in ancient times, the only difference is how it was done. Every community around the world had its own form of euthanasia.