STUDENT ID: 813001459

NAME: NEFTA BAPTISTE

COURSE CODE: SOCI 2031

The topic that I consider to be taboo that I have chosen to study for my anthropological study is
that of euthanasia. The term Euthanasia originated from the Greek word for good death. This
practice is carried out by the ending of a persons life either by lethal injection or discontinuing
medical treatment. Euthanasia can be voluntary meaning that the person is competent and has
made a request to die or involuntary which means that the persons life is ended without their
knowledge or consent. This interested me because upon research I found that the only countries
which offer the choice of legal euthanasia is Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Thus
the mere fact that it is illegal in all other countries shows that the concept is taboo due to the fact
that in many societies an most religions it is believed that it is not a persons right to forfeit their
own life. Therefore in studying this topic in Trinidad where euthanasia is not legal I wish to
understand peoples view on this topic and what makes it taboo.