1906

First bill in an English-speaking country to legalize euthanasia introduced to Ohio legislature, drafted by Anne S. Hall following death of cancer-ridden mother, with support of Harvard’s Charles Norton. But the bill failed out of fear of abuses (Lavi, 93-94). Failed euthanasia bills in Ohio and Iowa reveal three assumptions regarding euthanasia debate at turn of century: (1) both supporters and opponents agreed that the practice already existed sub rosa; (2) both sides conflated voluntary euthanasia with forcible killing of unwilling incurables; (3) opponents argued on practical rather than moral or religious grounds, raising objections that are far less relevant today (Appel, 625ff.).