RS Edexcel GCSE Short Course Key Terms - Matters of Life and Death

Abortion

The removal of a foetus from the womb before it can survive

Assisted Suicide

Providing a seriously ill with the means to commit suicide

Euthanasia

The painless killing of someone dying from a painful disease

Immortality of the Soul

The idea that the soul lives on after the death of the body

Near-Death Experience

When someone about to die has an out of body experience

Non-Voluntary Euthanasia

Ending someone's life painlessly when they are unable to ask, but you have good reason for thinking they would want you to do so

Paranormal

Unexplained things which are thought to have spiritual causes

Quality of Life

The idea that life must have some benefits for it to be worth living

Reincarnation

The belief that, after death, souls are reborn in a new body

Resurrection

The belief that, after death, the body stays in the grave until the end of the world when it is raised

Sanctity of Life

The belief that, after death, the body stays in the grave until the end of the world when it is raised

Voluntary Euthanasia

Ending life painlessly when someone in great pain asks for death