Studied by 21 people
What is assisted suicide?
When a person dies as a direct result of their own voluntary action but with the help of another person
What is doctor aided suicide?
When a person dies a s direct result of their own voluntary action but with the help of a doctor
What is voluntary euthanasia ?
When a persons death is directly caused by another person at their request and consent
What is passive euthanasia ?
When a doctor withdraws life sustaining treatment which indirectly causes death or allows the patient to die by letting “nature take its course”
What is non voluntary euthanasia ?
When a persons life’s is ended without their consent but with the consent of someone representing their interests - eg someone in a persistent vegetative state
What is the main issue within euthanasia ?
Whether it is morally permissible
Which act de-criminalised suicide ?
The 1961 suicide act
What did the 1961 act not do?
Make it morally licit
What does the act say about those who contributes to an assisted suicide ?
A person who aid the suicide of another will be liable for a term not exceeding 14 years
What does the act reinforce ?
reinforces the principle of sanctity of life by criminalising any form of assisted suicide.
What is vitalism?
The view that human life is always sacred because it possesses a God-given soul
Does the act adopt vitalism?
No- there have been some cases in allowing a person to die as the best course of action
What is the Diane Pretty case 2002?
Diane had motor neurone disease and wanted to control the time and manner of her death.
Needed help from her husband to die and wanted the government to guarantee that her husband would not be prosecuted
HOL rejected her case- right to life doesnt include right to die and neither did the right to private life.
ECHR rejected her case- right to life not determined by quality of life so could not be interpreted as also giving a right to die.
They said that Dianes right to choose how to end her life came within her right to respect for private life- ban on assisted suicide justified however.
What is the case of baby charlotte 2005 and what does it represent ?
Born pre maturely with severe brain damage- against the wishes of her parents- the high court ordered the doctors not to resuscitate the baby if she fell into a coma- her underlying condition did not justify medical assistance required to stay a live
Demonstrates that the law doe not consider life to be absolutely sacred.
What Is the slippery slope argument ?
An argument that claims that if a rule is weakened even for good reasons, then what eventually follows if the rue is again weakened for good reasons will be highly undesirable.
What are arguments against the legalisation of assisted suicide:
Supporters of the bill slide from making the condition one of actual unbearable suffering form terminal illness to merely the fear discomfort and loss of dignity which terminal illnesses may bring
IF quality of life is grounds for euthanasia for those who request it then logically this could b extended to those who do not request it
In the Netherlands where euthanasia is permitted, there is evidence to indicate that many die against their wishes, law cannot easily place safeguards against those who simply choose to ignore them.
How does Helga Kuhse challenge proponents of the slippery slope argument?
Her argument is that the slippery slope argument is used by scaremongers to support their complete ban on euthanasia. - example of slippery slope argument is demonstrated by the active non voluntary euthanasia practised by the Nazis as a from of Eugenics.
However: Helga argues that the motivation behind these killings were not mercy or respect for autonomy, it was racial prejudice and the belief that racial purity required elimination of certain individuals.
The Netherlands is in a “social experiment” with progress and no evidence for a slippery slope argument.
What is “strong sanctity of lie” principle ?
Human life is always valuable from the moment of conception until natural death, there are no exceptions.
Innocent human life must be equally protected
What are ordinary and extraordinary means?
makes a distinction between means which are obligatory (ordinary) and means which are additional and therefore non necessarily obligatory.
Christians believe there are non which can justify the termination of human life.
Biblical arguments for the sanctity of life principle:
Life is set apart by God0 even human being is created in the image and likeness of God- humans a re different from other creatures and possesses a “spark” of divinity within them.
Life is a gift from god and is on loan to humans- God creator and should determine when it should end.
An innocent life is always to be respected- Ten Commandments - do not murder
Life is always to be loved and protected- love requires the Christian to respect and protect all humans regardless of status,gender and age/
Biblical evidence for these arguments
The incarnation of the word of God as man in the person fo Jesus reaffirms the sanctity and intrinsic value of every human life unconditionally in its relationship with God.
Ten Commandments0 do not murder
The command in Deuteronomy- “choose life”
The parable of the Good Samaritan- Samaritan overcomes prejudices to help a badly injured man- love is a central Christian picniple.
Jesus life and death is a sign of God solve for the world.
Key quotes:
You shall not murder
Love is patent
for god so loved the world that he gave his only son
What does the bible say about suicide?
It is Blasphemy- deliberate rejection of Gods gift of life.
Rejects Gods redemption through is victory over death
TO deliberately choose death it to deny that redemption is possible.
Who is condemned in the bible for committing suicide ?
King Saul and Judas both committed suicide and are both condemned as those who rejected Gods love.
What does Pope St John Paul II say in his evangelism Vitae (1995) say about euthanasia?
By accepting euthanasia, society has undermines the sanctity of life and by developing a “culture of death” devalued the dignity and respect of all humans which is very dangerous for it marginalises the weak, the I’ll and the disabled.
What is the weak sanctity of life principle?
The belief that although human life is always valuable, there may be situations where it would cause more harm than good to continue with it.
What does the weak scanctity of life argument say on the comparison between euthanasia and murder>
Does not consider that a killing an innocent person out of love is morally equivalent to murder as murder implies an ulterior motive such as revenge, euthanasia as an act of love in exceptional circumstances is not morally wrong.
What are the arguments in support of the weak sanctity of life principle ?
no one has a duty to endure a life of extreme pain
Life is a gift not a burden- we may use it responsibly and dispose of it as we wish, it would not be a git if the owner still had ownership of it. Humans are now owners of Gods gift of life, it is up to them as good stewards of this life to decide when to end it.
What is the Quality of life principle?
states that human life h to possess certain attributes in order to have value. Might include experience of happiness, autonomy and being conscience.
What is instrumentalism?
The view that something or someone is fo value only if it is useful and achieves a desired end or purpose.
Which philosopher advocates for the quality of life principle ?
peter Singer- in favour of non religious quality of life principle and rejects sanctity of life.
What does peter singer/john Locke believe the value of our life depends on?
A persons ability to have desires and preferences.
What are the five new rational quality of life commandments to replace those of traditional sanctity of life position that Singer advocates for in “rethinking life and death”
Recognise that the worth of human life varies
Take responsibility for the consequences of your decision
Respect a persons desire to live/die
Bring children into the world only if they are wanted
Do not discriminate on the basis of species.
What does Singer compare a “severely defective human infant” with.
“ a dog or a pig will often find the non human to have superior capacities”
What judgments may a utilitarian make on euthanasia ?
Total happiness judgment - if they are in pain, happiness cannot be increased and their life is no longer worth living
Average happiness judgment- if a persons Average of happiness declines permanently then their life is no longer worth living
Higher qualities Judgement- A persons equality of life is judged by certain minimum standards which are necessary to live a happy life might include, memory, ability to form relationships and ability to reason.
What is the liberal principle ?
As developed by MIll and others is that as humans are the best judge of their own happiness they should be given maximum freedom or liberty to live their lives as they consider appropriate.
What is the argument as the basis of quality of life principle ?
The value of someone’s life comes from their ability to have autonomy, life is not intrinsically valueable.
What is the problem with Mills liberalism allowing for paternalism?
Mills liberalism can allow for paternalism if it is in a persons best interest to over rule their autonomy hover this implies that there is a standard greater than autonomy which justifies interference or that an individual may not know what’s good for them.
Does self harm justify paternalism?
What does Jonathon Glover argue?
That being alive is not itself a sufficient condition for that life being valueble, it must also be conscience.
Killing a life is only wrong if it is conscience
What type of euthanasia does Glovers argument suppprt?
Non-voluntary euthanasia.
What is the case study of Dr David Moor?
Dr David Moor gave a terminally ill patient a small dose of morphine which resulted in his death- claimed to be accidental to relieve pain and not with the intention of murdering him.
What tensions does this case demonstrate ?
Tensions between those such as Dr Moor who argue that allowing to die is not the same thing as killing, and detectives who consider killing and not killing.
What are Acts and Omissions ?
Distinguishes between willling to do X (which is Malloy culpable) and omitting or refraining from doing X ( nor morally culpable if doing C would be to act immorallly)-supported by Deontologists and rejected by consequentialists
What is a key distinction between consequentialists and deontologists ?
The place and nature of intention
Deontologists- whether an act is intended or not intended is crucial in determining ig a person is blameworthy whilst for a consequentialist what matter is the act produces greater or lesser good.
Who supports the doctrine of the double effect?
Deontologists
What does the doctrine of the double effect say you must do if you morally perform an act?
The action in itself from the outset is good
the good effect and not the evil is intended
The good effect is not produced by means of the evil effect
there is proportionately good reason to permit the evil effect
What do Consequentialists reject the doctrine of the double effect?
There is no moral difference between giving a patient drugs which relieve pain and hasten death and drugs which hasten death- if result is the same- intention is not morally significant.
What are key issues surrounding euthanasia?
purity of intention
Arbitrariness- trolly problem- consequentialist- save five people- deontologist- life complicated logically possible to have prior intentions.
Ordinary and extra ordinary means- consequentialists consider Deontologists rigid refusal ever to use direct killing can lead to more suffering, loss of dignity and confusion over what constituents “extra ordinary” means
proportionality and quality of life
QALY-
“Quality adjusted life year” - takes into account quantity and quality of life generated by healthcare interventions. Makes a calculation of life expectancy and a measure of the quality of the remaining years.
What did the non voluntary euthansia decision of Tony Bland demonstrate?
Doctors cannot be expected to maintain a life at all costs
WHat is the moral debate with non voluntary euthanasia?
Is acting paternally or prolonging the life a “brain dead” necessarily in their best interests.
What is the “dead donor rule”
When there is no brain activity and no body function
Why is declaring someone “Bain dead” difficult ?
Being brain dead doesn’t always mean they are actually dead and it can take sometime to determine whether patient is brain dead- difficult to make diagnosis.
What type of theory is Natural law?
Deontological
Why does Natural law criticise consequentialism?
Fails to make the important distinction between “allowing to die” and “cutting short” a life, without this distinction the primary precept of self preservation and protection of innocent ide would be a threat.
Why does natural law say euthanasia undermines social stability?
Undermines all social stability because it undermines the purpose of the citizen to maintain its laws and it is a sign that society has failed in its duty to care for all its members
Why does natural law say euthanasia is wrong?
undermines social stability
Must worship God- euthansia is a allure of ones duty to protect life
Duty to protect innocent life- whatever state of conscience they are still a person- death defined by the cease of a heart bet
Why does natural law say patients cant refuse treatment ?
doctrine of ordinary and extraordinary means does not permit a person to refuse ordinary treatment.
In Evandelicum Vitae the pope makes a distinction between ordinary and extraordinary treatment.
Must sustain life however extra ordinary treatment is not obligatory.
What is the only exception to allowing a patient to die in rare circumstances?
Doctrine of double effect
What does Fletchers situation ethics combine in relation to situation ethics?
Consequentialism and Christian weak sanctity of life principle
Why does Fletcher reject Natural law?
Doesn’t believe that euthanasia is intrinsically wrong.
What are Fletchers four working principles?
Pragmastism- Each case has to be judged according to its merits
relativism- Killing innocent people cannot be an absolute wrong as each case has to be judged according to love and compassion.
positivism- Laws and rules are invited by human to assist in humane treatment of each other and might mean allowing someone to cut their life short- no law which states life should be preserved at all costs
Personalism- Respect for a persons autonomy and their human integrity. Humanity is more significant than mere biological existence.
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