EUTHANASIA

What is assisted suicide?

-A person who wishes to die & is helped to die by another person.

What is active euthanasia?

-A treatment given that directly causes the death of an individual.

What is non-voluntary euthanasia?

-Where a terminally ill person’s life is ended without their consent.

What is passive euthanasia?

-A treatment is withheld & this indirectly causes the death of the individual.

How does sanctity of life respond to euthanasia?

-Life is special because it’s God-given. Each human is made in Imago Dei, so it is morally wrong to take life. Each life has intrinsic value regardless of its quality or usefulness.

-Because people have souls, they must be treated as special.

-God plans each individual human life, we are special.

-Suicide is blasphemy as it is a deliberate rejection of God’s gift of life.

What are quotes that support the Sanctity of life?

-’’So God created mankind in his own image’’.

-’’You shall not murder’’.

-’’The Lord gave & the Lord has taken away’’.

-’’Breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.’’ - Genesis 2:7.

What are the arguments for sanctity of life?

-If we do not uphold the supreme value of life, it may lead to poorer treatment of patients or feeling like a burden.

-Natural Law upholds the intrinsic value of life - preservation of innocent life is part of the 5 primary precepts.

-Taking life is playing God.

What are the arguments against sanctity of life?

-Not many people share this religious view.

-Technology/medical knowledge allows us to know which lives can/cannot be saved, so we do not need to value life at all costs.

-SE says its more important to work case-by-case to do the most loving thing for all people involved.

-Suffering of patients will be increased if we preserve life at all costs.

-Peter Singer says sanctity of life is old fashioned & people should have the freedom to make decisions about their lives for themselves.

What is the slippery slope argument?

-Changes in the law can lead to a slippery slope where respect for life is reduced & pressure is exterted on those who are vunerable - eg the old & disabled.

-They may feel like a burden to society.

-Eg when abortion was legalized they thought it would only be 100 cases a year, in reality its 180,000 a year.

-Singer responds by saying in the 48,000 euthanasia cases only 2 were patients whos lives had been ended against their will.

What is quality of life?

-The idea that life’s value depends on certain attributes or goods. EG happiness, autonomy.

How does quality of life respond to euthanasia?

-Human life has to possess certain attributes to have value.

-Singer argues the value of life depends on a person’s ability to have desires/preferences, not some mystical soul which gives priority to humans.

-We should base our decisions on the state that a person is living their life, not made on a belief in an ultimate being.

What is the principle of autonomy?

-Humans should be free to make their own decisions about their own future.

-If we wish to harm ourselves we are permitted to do so.

-The right to make our own decisions about our death.

How does autonomy link to euthanasia?

-We have the ability to determine the time/manner of our own death.

-However, if a patient is making the decision in a diminished mental state then they are not autonomous.

Why do people support voluntary euthanasia?

-If a person is suffering from terminal illness.

-If a person is unlikely to benefit from a discovery of a cure.

-If a person is suffering intolerable pain.

-If a person has no assistance to end their life.

Arguments for sanctity of life having a meaning in 21st medical century ethics.

-Yes as it originates from the bible when God breathed life into Adam, & only with humans. Showing that God made everyone in Imago Dei & people are reflections of God.

-Based on belief that life is a gift from God & is loaned to humans. God is the author of life, he is the only one who determines when it ends.

-Aquinas argues sanctity of life will always have meaning because its linked to the universal principle of natural law. - its innate in all human beings, applying to those who aren’t religious too.

Arguments against sanctity of life having a meaning in 21st medical century ethics.

-Singer favours quality of life over something that is mystical & gives priority to humans above over all other animals.

-Human life has to possess certain attributes to have value. Singer argues decisions regarding life & death shouldn’t be made on a belief in an ultimate being. We should base decisions on the situation.

-Life should be viewed as a gift, not a burden. Life is a gift so we can dispose of it as we wish. Humans are owners of God’s gift of life.

-Fletcher argues we should take decisions situationally & we should not apply absolute rules eg sanctity of life to this. Euthanasia can be considered a loving & moral action if the outcome is loving.

Arguments for a person having complete autonomy over their own life & decisions made about it.

-Singer believes value of human life varies from case to case. We should respect a person’s right to live or die.

-Fletcher argues sanctity of life is unhelpful in the euthanasia debate as each decision should be made situationally & we should not apply absolute rules. Euthanasia is a loving & moral decision if the outcome is loving.

-God has given us the gift of life so now we are the owners & have complete control over it.

Arguments against a person having complete autonomy over their own life & decisions made about it.

-Life is a gift/loan from God, only he determines when life ends.

-If we do not want killing people universalised then we shouldn’t accept euthanasia.

Arguments for a moral difference between medical intervention to end a patient’s life & medical non-intervention to end a patients life.

-Sanctity of life means life is a gift from God & is a loan to humans. So any direct action to end a person’s life would mean someone would act as God. God is the author of life so he should end it.

-In the UK any act that directly ends a person’s life is illegal.

-NL’s principle of double effect suggests any action must have a good intention, so if you directly act to end a person’s life it’s wrong. The intention is to kill which goes against the primary precept of defending innocent life.

Arguments against a moral difference between medical intervention to end a patient’s life & medical non-intervention to end a patients life.

-Singer says the value of human life varies from case to case, so we should respect a person’s right to live or die. Medical & non-medical intervention is acceptable if the person has a poor quality of life.

-Fletcher argues to judge if something is morally acceptable depends on the outcome. There is no moral difference between medical & non-medical intervention if the outcome is positive & loving.

-Bentham’s hedonic calculus looks at how much happiness could be gained by both intervention & non-intervention. If euthanasia is the most useful action it should be carried out.

How would Situation Ethics respond to euthanasia?

-Considers quality of life more important than sanctity of life.

-Rules such as ‘do not kill’ can be broken when love demands it.

-Flexible to each situation, if it is the most loving thing to do.

-Agape ensures the best possible outcome for the people involved.

-Although the most loving outcome cannot be certain as we cannot predict the future & there could be bad consequences.

How would Natural Law respond to euthanasia?

-Argues for the preservation of life, it is intrinsically valuable & should not be shortened.

-Prevents humans from abusing power over others & playing God.

-’God gives & God takes away’.

-Euthanasia can undermine the stability of society, a society where life was not valued couldn’t be ordered.

-However the principle of double effect can allow pain relief, although some can shorten life. It is acceptable as the intention is to relieve pain, the shortening of life is a secondary effect.

-Although it shows no compassion to the pain & suffering experienced by terminally ill people & that quality and autonomy of life isn’t important.

What are the arguments for euthanasia/assisted suicide?

-Everyone should be able to choose when & how they die. Life should only continue if a person feels their life is worth living.

What are the arguments against euthanasia/assisted suicide?

-Religious argument= Only god can choose when life ends, euthanasia is acting against his will & is sinful.

-Slippery slope argument= Legalising euthanasia can lead to old/disabled/terminally ill feeling like a burden & the pressure to request euthanasia. It may discourage research into cures for terminally ill patients, & doctors may get a diagnosis wrong & cause a patient to wrongly choose euthanasia.

-Medical ethics argument= Legalising euthanasia violates the most important medical ethic. Asking doctors to abandon their obligation to preserve human life damages the doctor-patient relationship. Hastening death on a regular basis leads to lack of compassion when dealing with elderly/disabled/ill people. They think their doctor would kill them off.