A mercy killing is something that I define as ending the life of a person or an animal to end suffering or to prevent a worse fate. The most common example of a mercy killing that I can think of is when a pet is put to sleep because it is old or sick. To me, this is an act of mercy because the death of the animal will end its pain and suffering.

    About six years ago, my grandmother had a black Labrador mix puppy named Sabu. One day, she took him to the vet to be neutered, and when he came back, he was limping on one of his hind legs. She thought that the vet had done something wrong because he was walking normally before he was neutered. Sabu could barely walk, so after a while, she...