Voluntary euthanasia is the process of bringing about death in the terminally ill, at their request.
Its legalisation is being debated in some Western societies. Matthew Bailey , a medical student, reflects on his personal struggle in the context of this debate. What carried him off was not the cancer that riddled his body and wormed its excruciating way up his spine. It was an overdose of morphine. My grandfather, a doctor himself, had discussed the matter with the treating physician and the family knew exactly what was going on.