Which statement accurately defines euthanasia?

• A. Withholding life support
• B. Killing a patient through lethal injection or other means
• C. Providing palliative care only
• D. Physician-assisted suicide

Answer: (B)

Euthanasia is the deliberate act of ending a patient’s life to relieve suffering, typically by administering a lethal agent. This option directly involves causing death, usually performed by a physician, so it matches the core idea of euthanasia as active killing to relieve intractable suffering.

Withholding life support is about letting a patient die by not providing treatment; it does not involve actively causing death. Providing palliative care focuses on comfort without aiming to end life. Physician-assisted suicide involves the patient self-administering the lethal means, with the clinician providing the means, but the death results from the patient’s own action rather than the clinician’s direct administration.