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OCR Ethics > Euthanasia > Flashcards

Euthanasia Flashcards

1
Q

What is Imago Dei?

A

denotes the symbolical relation between God and humanity

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2
Q

What is the term that implies we have a higher sanctity of life?

A

The Spark of Divinity

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3
Q

What is personhood?

A

What seperates a human being from a person eg. someone in a coffin

Is someone in a PVS still a person?

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4
Q

What is active euthanasia?

A

The purposeful act of killing an individual who wishes to have an assisted death.

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5
Q

Define euthanasia

A

the painless killing of a individual suffering

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6
Q

Quote from Fletcher about downs children

A

people with children with down syndrome have no reason to feel guilty about putting a down syndrome baby away whether it’s put away in the sense of hidden in a sanatorium or in a more responsible lethal sense it is sad yes dreadful but it carries no guilt true guilt arises only from offense against a person and a downs is not a person

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7
Q

What does euthanasia mean?

A

good death

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8
Q

What is passive euthanasia?

A

An individuals life is no longer prolonged instead of trying to extend it beyond the ‘natural’ time.

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9
Q

What is voluntary euthanasia?

A

Carried out on the request and permission of an individual who wants to die.

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10
Q

What is non-voluntary euthanasia?

A

Helping an individual to die when consent is not given.

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11
Q

What involuntary euthanasia?

A

Carried out against the patients wishes eg. do not resucitate order.

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12
Q

What is Living Will?

A

A document signed by an individual to state they would wish to die if it is no longer possible for them to communicate.

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13
Q

Support - Voluntary Euthanasia is not murder

A

Gregory E Pence said that killing is not wrong if they wish to die. We are just speeding up the process of death.

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14
Q

Support - Voluntary Euthanasia is Merciful

A

Those who have euthanasia are often suffering. Thomas Moore argued in Utopia ‘that they may choose rather to die since they cannot live but in much misery’. This is enhanced by the idea that we already give this kindness to animals - why not humans?

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15
Q

Support - Voluntary Euthanasia is Merciful

A

Mill argues that as long as a decision does not negatively affect others then a person autonomy should not be restricted.
Kevorkian agreed that autonomy is the most important factor for a patient.

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16
Q

Support - Voluntary Euthanasia Goes on Anyway

A

A 1994 British medical journal showed that patients are already helped to die. If we legalise VE it can become regulated and safer.
We expect people to have control over their lives - why not their death.

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17
Q

Support - Voluntary Euthanasia Means Quality of Life

A

We should be able to maintain our dignity in death as well as life.

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18
Q

Criticisms - Motives

A

Can we be sure the decision is definitive? We do not always make the best decisions in life so how can we be trusted in choosing our death? A patient should have to be fully aware of their situation but we can not know everything.

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19
Q

Criticism - Mistakes

A

What would happen if someone was mistakenly diagnosed? There could possibly be people who die for no reason.

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20
Q

Criticism - Abuse of the System

A

The older generation may feel they are a burden on society and so choose VE. People may also be pressure into euthanasia leading to abuse of the system.

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21
Q

Criticism - Impact on the Commumity

A

In time other forms of euthanasia may be allowed. There is a ‘slippery slope’ created that once we start moving down it is inevitable (eg. child euthanasia in Netherlands).

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22
Q

Criticism - Sanctity of Life

A

For Christians to take away the life that was given you by God is to kill God himself. You cannot choose to destroy what the creator created.

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23
Q

What religious beliefs does NL link with Euthanasia?

A

How the catholic church reinforces the idea that we should follow the sanctity of life (1st NL = Life)

Also synderesis rule - go good, avoid evil

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24
Q

How does deontology effect NL’s interpretation of euthanasia?

A

The end can never justify the means. So the act of killing someone can never be justified by the end of the patient’s suffering.

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25
Q

How does deontology and secondary precepts effect NL’s interpretation of euthanasia?

A

Secondary precepts should be obeyed.

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26
Q

How is creation in Christianity a problem for NL?

A

By killing we take away what God created - not just against the sanctity of life. What gives us the right to play god?

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27
Q

How could the DODE support VE?

A

If the intention is to end suffering and not to kill then VE is justified.
therefore NL undermines its own ethics (although one could say that killing indirect or not is always the intention)

28
Q

What is, ‘The Doctrine of Double Effect”? (5)

A

INTENTION MATTERS

  • The good result must be achieved independently of the bad one
  • The action must be proportional to the cause for the good effect
  • The action must be appropriate to the cause
  • The action itself must be morally good
  • The person must be in a terminal condition
29
Q

What are some problems with the Doctrine of Double Effect? (3)

A
  • We are responsible for all the anticipated consequences of our actions
  • Death is sometimes the lesser of two evils - so the double effect is irrelevant
  • Double effect can produce an unexpected moral result (a doctor who intended to kill the patient is morally superior to a doctor who merely intended to relieve pain.)
30
Q

General issues with NL for euthanasia?

A
  • Hypocritical, places humanity above animals and simultaneously praises all that is natural (more to do with society than with nature?)
  • Assumes that we are naturally disposed to good
  • Contradictory with DODE
  • Why use this if you are non-religious?
31
Q

Cicero quote about NL

A

“True law is right reason in agreement with nature.”

32
Q

Strengths of the NL approach?

A
  • objective, absolute set of rules that avoid moral relativism in a critical situation
  • legalistic way of navigating morality
  • doesn’t necessarily have to be to do with religion (nature+reason)
  • influence on the Catholic church…Pope Francis “…caring for the good of others, of everyone, on the basis of the nature that unites every human being on this earth.”
33
Q

What are the 7 PPs? (NL)

A
  1. Preserve Life
  2. Reproduction
  3. Education of Offspring
  4. Seek God
  5. Live in society
  6. Avoid Offence
  7. Shun Ignorance
34
Q

How do NL’s PPs link to Euthanasia?

A
  1. …sanctity of life
  2. ..we may compromise our relationship with God
  3. ..by following NL we should not be ignorant and carry out euthanasia
35
Q

How does the synderesis rule apply to euthanasia?

A

“Do good and avoid evil”

If we carry out euthanasia then this would not be directing us towards our telos that centres on Auinas’ 7 PPs if we were truly using our ‘recta ratio’ (right reason).

36
Q

How does euthanasia give people autonomy?

A

Mill’s harm principle…‘The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilised community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. ‘

Jack Kevorkian agreed that a patients personal autonomy is the most important factor.

37
Q

Aquinas quote about man’s direction? (NL)

A

“Man needs to be directed to his supernatural and higher way”…arrow analogy essentially

38
Q

what type of ethical theory is situation ethics?

A
  • teleological

- focused on consequences

39
Q

what is fletcher’s book?

A

“situation ethics: the new morality”

40
Q

What does situation ethics say about Euthanasia?

A

It all depends on the situation and what would be the most loving…if it fits that criteria then the ends justify the means and euthanasia will be allowed.
This would also apply to leaving someone to suffer if they wished to end their pain.
In this way, it is more personal, relative and pragmatic than the other approaches as it focuses on the individual and their circumstances.

41
Q

What are some issues with situation ethics approach to euthanasia?

A
  • not legalistic and will never comply with the rules of society (unless they line up of course)
  • what about NVE? this is equally loving and unethical…it would have to be selfless to apply without consent
  • Slippery Slope- people would take advantage of it even if they didn’t need or, it or weren’t quite ready to die + safeguarding (but does this really happen/ legalisation would allow for more safety measures)
42
Q

What was Fletcher himself in favour of?

A

voluntary euthanasia and physician assisted dying

43
Q

what are fletcher’s four working principles?

A
  • relativism= a contextual theory
  • pragmatism= taking a practical approach to ethics
  • personalism= putting people first
  • positivism= putting love and faith first
44
Q

Which of the 6 propositions can be applied to euthanasia?

A
  1. “The ruling norm of Christian dualism is love; nothing else.”
  2. “Love and justice are the same, for justice is love distributed, nothing else”
  3. “Only the ends justifies the means, nothing else”
45
Q

Summary of how utitlitarianism applies to euthanasia?

A

By weighing up what will have the most good for the greatest number of people. This would be calculated using the hedonic calculus, looking at the intensity and duration of the pain, those who would be effected and the richness of the future experiences they might have had. They would also look at the dignity should they carry on living (purity) and the chances of a cure (certainty). Also whether the benefits are remote or immediate.
So, in most cases, the level of pain would justify euthanasia.

46
Q

How would Mill have responded to Euthanasia? + example

A

Mill would also have supported euthanasia, as he believed in the sovereignty of the individual - despite the principle of utility, if I’m harming no-one else, I can do what I please.

Also that quality/quatity is always the case with pleasure.

Mill did make a distinction between higher and lower pleasures, which can be shown effectively here. Thomas Hyde was 27 when Dr. Kevorkian helped him to die. He had ALS - the same condition that Stephen Hawking has. For Hyde, an athletic man, the thought of never using his body again was too much. Mill would argue that if his maind were still working, Hyde should have been able to enjoy a happy life. Someone with Alzheimers would be a different story, as Mill would see little benefit in continuing with life if your mind wasn’t working properly.

47
Q

Apply the 7 hedonic values to Euthanasia?

A

Remoteness – how soon will the positive result occur for the individual?

Purity – how will this decrease pain for the individual

Richness – how would this impact the future pleasure they may have or others pleasures close to them

Intensity – how powerful its effect on the person and the surroundings, society, family etc

Certainty – how likely it is to result in a positive outcome

Extent – how many people it affects

Duration – how long it lasts

48
Q

Explain the concepts and the difference between Act and Rule Utilitarians?

A

Act utilitarians believe that whenever we are deciding what to do, we should perform the action that will create the greatest net utility.

Rule utilitarians adopt a two-part view that stresses the importance of moral rules. According to rule utilitarians, a) a specific action is morally justified if it conforms to a justified moral rule; and b) a moral rule is justified if its inclusion into our moral code would create more utility than other possible rules (or no rule at all).

The difference between act and rule utilitarianism is that act utilitarians apply the utilitarian principle directly to the evaluation of individual actions while rule utilitarians apply the utilitarian principle directly to the evaluation of rules and then evaluate individual actions by seeing if they obey or disobey those rules whose acceptance will produce the most utility.

49
Q

How would Bentham respond to Euthanasia?

A
50
Q

What is a PVS?

A

A persistent vegetative state

51
Q

Who argued that passive euthanasia is worse?

A

James Rachels argues that passive euthanasia is worse as it is more cruel when the process of dying may be drawn out and painful.

52
Q

What is the moral debate of acts vs omissions?

A

There is a moral difference between carrying out an action and merely omitting an action.

53
Q

What is Singer’s explanation of the acts vs omissions argument? Apply.

A

The drowning child, when we pass by a toddler drowning we have the thought to help them as it is no risk to their life. But what if our clothes get ruined? Does that justify the act of not saving the child? Are you responsible?

Should we passively let someone die in pain for a petty price or should we help them end their life without this added pain with little cost to ourselves?

54
Q

What is the Samaritan’s law?

A

A law that makes non-action illegal. Eg. if you were to not help the child from the pond

this is not in place in the uk

55
Q

What are the differences between a strong sanctity of life perspective and a weak one?

A

Strong:

  • Often known as pro-life or vitalism
  • all life is sacred because of our god given soul
  • there are no ordinary/extraordinary ways to justify ending a life
  • moment of conception till natural death
  • all innocent life must be protected

Weak:

  • killing an innocent person out of love is not murder
  • Murder implies ulterior motives
  • in exceptional circumstances it is not wrong
  • no one deserves to end a life in pain
  • life is a gift not aa burden, not a gift if the owner still has ownership
56
Q

What is the Alkmaar case?

A

In the netherlands in 1984 at 95 year old woman could no longer eat or drink and so asked for a mercy kill. After discussions this was agreed. In court later the doctor argued it was his duty to do so. This made the netherlands rethink their policies.

57
Q

What is the case of Tracy?

A

She had cerebral palsy and was euthanized by her father in the trunk of the car. Father’s sentence was initially life but at the retrial reduced to two years.

58
Q

What is the case of Diane Pretty?

A

“the law has taken my rights away”
She had motor neurons disease and campaigned for the right to die, but she was not permitted.
1958-2002

59
Q

What do some believe about palliative care?

A

That it is a replacement for euthanasia and you cannot deny someone this psychological, social and spiritual support. Holistic approaches are better.

60
Q

What was the case of Charlotte in 2005?

A

Was born prematurely with severe brain damage and was refused the right of resuscitation in court.

61
Q

Quote from Helga Kuhse about the slippery slope?

A

The situation in the Netherlands is not following the example of Nazi Germany in making some lives valueless for reasons other than mercy or respect.
(she is a utilitarian bioethicist)

61
Q

Quote from Helga Kuhse about the slippery slope?

A

The situation in the Netherlands is not following the example of Nazi Germany in making some lives valueless for reasons other than mercy or respect.
(she is a utilitarian bioethicist)

62
Q

How does Daniel Maguire support Euthanasia?

A
  • important to respect and value life but should not be obliged to prolong it in every situation
  • he rejects the view that godliness the power of life and death if god alone decides have a death does this not mean that we are no more than god’s property
  • we intervene to save life and preserve it there’s no real difference between ending life and preserving it
63
Q

Quote from Johnathan Glover that supports Euthanasia?

A

To refuse to provide help is a very serious denial of a persons autonomy over the matter of his own life and death.

64
Q

In what way is Natural Law For Euthanasia?

A

supports passive euthanasia because of the doctrine of double effect as long as the intention is to relive the pain of those suffering, not to kill them.

OCR Ethics (4 decks)

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