IntroductionI have identified euthanasia, which is a contemporary health issue, as my subject of study. Euthanasia, often known as assisted suicide, is the attempt to end one's life to relieve pain or suffering. Euthanasia is relevant to my community since it happens daily and affects the lives of many people. There are strong opinions for and against euthanasia and researchers must find solutions acceptable to all. According to BBC News Europe (2014), “the Belgian Parliament adopted a bill authorizing the euthanasia of terminally ill children without any age limit, by 86 votes to 44, with 12 abstentions. Belgium is now the first country to remove the age limit for euthanasia and, for twelve years, it has authorized euthanasia for adults. (BBC News Europe, 2014) It is only a matter of time before similar bills are passed in other countries, including the United States. According to Belgian legislation, a terminally ill and suffering child can request euthanasia or their parents can give consent. The request must be voluntary and the child must be in significant pain for it to be examined by a doctor. Some people have argued that a child does not have the capacity to make such decisions. The argument for this law is that it will only affect a small population of adolescents. In addition, the child must have made several requests for euthanasia while suffering and the parents and doctors must consent before it is administered. Most euthanasia victims are afraid of pain and often feel like a burden to society. Doctors and psychiatrists believe that they are not participating in assisted suicide but are only fulfilling their duty to ensure that their patients' wishes are fulfilled. There are also... middle of paper ...... medications to end a patient's pain or suffering. In my opinion, however, legalizing child euthanasia is immoral since most adolescents are not capable of making simple decisions that affect their lives. The goal of palliative care is to extend the child's lifespan and minimize their suffering. Patients need easy access to palliative care at all times and should not rely solely on doctors to end their lives. References BBC News Europe (2014). Retrieved from BBC News website: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26181615 Legalizing Euthanasia (2014). Medical Perspectives on Death and Dying Retrieved from Santa Clara University website: http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/iie/v4n2/euthanasia.htmlThe Age (2014). Retrieved from The Age website: http://www.theage.com.au/comment/reject-euthanasia-and-save-us-from-dr-death-20140510-zr7xc.html