Editing Euthanasia (section)

=== Early euthanasia movement in the United States ===
{{Main|Euthanasia in the United States}}

[[Image:Felix-Adler-Hine.jpeg|thumb|right|upright|[[Felix Adler (professor)|Felix Adler]], {{Circa|1913}}, the first prominent American to argue for permitting suicide in cases of chronic illness]]
The rise of the euthanasia movement in the United States coincided with the so-called [[Gilded Age]], a time of social and technological change that encompassed an "individualistic conservatism that praised laissez-faire economics, [[scientific method]], and [[rationalism]]", along with major [[Depression (economics)|depressions]], industrialisation and conflict between corporations and labour unions.<ref name="Emanuel1994"/>{{rp|794}} It was also the period in which the modern hospital system was developed, which has been seen as a factor in the emergence of the euthanasia debate.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Pappas | first = Demetra | year = 1996 | title = Recent historical perspectives regarding medical euthanasia and physician assisted suicide | journal = British Medical Bulletin | volume = 52 | pages = 386–87 | issue = 2 | doi = 10.1093/oxfordjournals.bmb.a011554 | pmid=8759237| doi-access = free }}</ref>

[[Robert G. Ingersoll|Robert Ingersoll]] argued for euthanasia, stating in 1894 that where someone is suffering from a terminal illness, such as terminal cancer, they should have a right to end their pain through suicide. [[Felix Adler (professor)|Felix Adler]] offered a similar approach, although, unlike Ingersoll, Adler did not reject religion. In fact, he argued from an [[Ethical movement|Ethical Culture]] framework. In 1891, Adler argued that those suffering from overwhelming pain should have the right to commit suicide, and, furthermore, that it should be permissible for a doctor to assist – thus making Adler the first "prominent American" to argue for suicide in cases where people were suffering from chronic illness.<ref name="Dowbiggin">{{cite book | last = Dowbiggin | first = Ian | author-link = Ian Dowbiggin | year = 2003 | title = A merciful end: the euthanasia movement in modern America | publisher = [[Oxford University Press]] | isbn = 978-0-19-515443-6 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/mercifulendeutha00dowb_0/page/10 10–13] | url = https://archive.org/details/mercifulendeutha00dowb_0/page/10 }}</ref> Both Ingersoll and Adler argued for voluntary euthanasia of adults suffering from terminal ailments.<ref name="Dowbiggin"/> Dowbiggin argues that by breaking down prior moral objections to euthanasia and suicide, Ingersoll and Adler enabled others to stretch the definition of euthanasia.<ref name="Dowbiggin2003p13">{{cite book | last = Dowbiggin | first = Ian | author-link = Ian Dowbiggin | year = 2003 | title = A merciful end: the euthanasia movement in modern America | publisher = [[Oxford University Press]] | isbn = 978-0-19-515443-6 | page = [https://archive.org/details/mercifulendeutha00dowb_0/page/13 13] | url = https://archive.org/details/mercifulendeutha00dowb_0/page/13 }}</ref>

The first attempt to legalise euthanasia took place in the United States, when [[Henry Thomas Hunt|Henry Hunt]] introduced legislation into the [[Ohio General Assembly|General Assembly]] of [[Ohio]] in 1906.<ref name="Appel2004">{{cite journal | last = Appel | first = Jacob | author-link = Jacob M. Appel | year = 2004 | title = A Duty to Kill? A Duty to Die? Rethinking the Euthanasia Controversy of 1906 | journal = Bulletin of the History of Medicine | volume = 78 | issue = 3 | pages = 610–34 | doi = 10.1353/bhm.2004.0106 | pmid=15356372| s2cid = 24991992 }}</ref>{{rp|614}} Hunt did so at the behest of [[Anna Sophina Hall]], a wealthy heiress who was a major figure in the euthanasia movement during the early 20th century in the United States. Hall had watched her mother die after an extended battle with [[liver cancer]], and had dedicated herself to ensuring that others would not have to endure the same suffering. Towards this end she engaged in an extensive letter writing campaign, recruited [[Lurana W. Sheldon|Lurana Sheldon]] and [[Maud Ballington Booth]], and organised a debate on euthanasia at the annual meeting of the [[American Humane Association]] in 1905 – described by [[Jacob M. Appel|Jacob Appel]] as the first significant public debate on the topic in the 20th century.<ref name="Appel2004"/>{{rp|614–616}}

Hunt's bill called for the administration of an [[anesthetic]] to bring about a patient's death, so long as the person is of lawful age and sound mind, and was suffering from a fatal injury, an irrevocable illness, or great physical pain. It also required that the case be heard by a physician, required informed consent in front of three witnesses, and required the attendance of three physicians who had to agree that the patient's recovery was impossible. A motion to reject the bill outright was voted down, but the bill failed to pass, 79 to 23.<ref name="Emanuel1994">{{cite journal | last = Emanuel | first = Ezekiel | author-link = Ezekiel Emanuel | year = 1994 | title = The history of euthanasia debates in the United States and Britain | journal = Annals of Internal Medicine | volume = 121 | page = 796 | issue = 10 | doi = 10.7326/0003-4819-121-10-199411150-00010 | pmid = 7944057 | citeseerx = 10.1.1.732.724 | s2cid = 20754659 }}</ref>{{rp|796}}<ref name="Appel2004"/>{{rp|618–619}}

Along with the Ohio euthanasia proposal, in 1906 Assemblyman Ross Gregory introduced a proposal to permit euthanasia to the [[Iowa General Assembly|Iowa legislature]]. However, the Iowa legislation was broader in scope than that offered in Ohio. It allowed for the death of any person of at least ten years of age who suffered from an ailment that would prove fatal and cause extreme pain, should they be of sound mind and express a desire to artificially hasten their death. In addition, it allowed for infants to be euthanised if they were sufficiently deformed, and permitted guardians to request euthanasia on behalf of their wards. The proposed legislation also imposed penalties on physicians who refused to perform euthanasia when requested: a 6–12-month prison term and a fine of between $200 and $1,000. The proposal proved to be controversial.<ref name="Appel2004"/>{{rp|619–621}} It engendered considerable debate and failed to pass, having been withdrawn from consideration after being passed to the Committee on Public Health.<ref name="Appel2004"/>{{rp|623}}

After 1906 the euthanasia debate reduced in intensity, resurfacing periodically, but not returning to the same level of debate until the 1930s in the United Kingdom.<ref name="Emanuel1994"/>{{rp|796}}

Euthanasia opponent [[Ian Dowbiggin]] argues that the early membership of the [[Euthanasia Society of America]] (ESA) reflected how many perceived euthanasia at the time, often seeing it as a eugenics matter rather than an issue concerning individual rights.<ref name="Dowbiggin"/> Dowbiggin argues that not every eugenist joined the ESA "solely for eugenic reasons", but he postulates that there were clear ideological connections between the eugenics and euthanasia movements.<ref name="Dowbiggin"/>