Anderson, Sarah McKenzie2017-10-102017-10-102017https://hdl.handle.net/1794/2282166 pages. A thesis presented to the Department of Political Science and the Clark Honors College of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for degree of Bachelor of Arts, Spring 2017In order to understand why the approaches to euthanasia policy in the United States and Western Europe are so radically different, this study provides a comprehensive overview of euthanasia and its variations, the legal precedent it holds, as well as the laws that govern its usage. The foundations of this study are the states of Oregon and Texas as the case studies which demonstrate the contradicting American approaches to euthanasia; and the nations of Belgium and the Netherlands as a representation of the European approach. This study concludes that, for a variety of social, political, and cultural reasons, the ways in which governments decide to legislate euthanasia policy vary immensely. These reasons include, religion and its contrasting importance within societies, political trends in opposing ideological directions, the importance of certain philosophical principles, and racial demographics.en-USCreative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0-USEuthanasiaPolicyUnited StatesEuropeReligionPoliticsThesis/Dissertation