Euthanasia plug") is legal under some circumstances in many countries. Active euthanasia however is legal or de facto legal in only a handful of countries (e.g. Belgium, Canada, Switzerland) and is limited to specific circumstances and the approval of councilors and doctors or other specialists. In some countries such as Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, support for active euthanasia is almost non-existent. Like other terms borrowed from history, "euthanasia" has had different meanings depending on usage. The first apparent usage of the term "euthanasia" belongs to the historian Suetonius, who described how the Emperor Augustus, "dying quickly and without suffering in
Memorandum Authorizing Involuntary Euthanasia killing the mentally disabled would infringe on the sovereignty of the Third Reich. In their trials of German war criminals and perpetrators of atrocities, the Americans were concerned above all to maintain U.S. sovereignty by not setting a precedent for one nation to interfere in the domestic affairs of another. Memorandum Authorizing Involuntary Euthanasia Adolf Hitler signed a memorandum authorizing involuntary euthanasia in October 1939 to serve as the legal basis for Aktion T4, the Nazi forced euthanasia program. Its purpose was to assure the doctors and nurses who took part in the euthanasia program would not be prosecuted for