Euthanasia Flashcards
What is voluntary for euthanasia?
•When a person’s life is ended at their request
What is non-voluntary euthanasia?
•When a person’s life is ended without their consent, but with the consent of a relative or friend
What is active euthanasia?
•It is when a doctor directly ends the patient’s life
What is an example of active euthanasia?
•The lethal injection
What is passive euthanasia?
•It is when a doctor allows a patient to die by doing nothing to prevent their death
What is an example of passive euthanasia?
•The removal of medical treatment (life support) or basic needs (food)
What absolutist theory argues euthanasia is always wrong?
•Natural Law
- It argues this as Aquinas believes innocent life should be protected (primary precept)
What is the teleological concern for legalising euthanasia?
•Euthanasia could cause old or ill people to be treated with less respect or feel pressured into dying
Who was Diane Pretty?
•She was suffering with motor neurone disease which meant she was paralysed from the neck down and was unable to speak
•She went to the European Court of Human Rights and argued she should be allowed to die as it is her own choice
•However, her case was rejected as they argued quality of life does not determine the right to life/death or the right to choose
Who was Sarah Scantlin?
•She was in a car accident in 1984 and was in a coma for 20 years
•Her doctors told her family she was unlikely to wake up but her family kept her on life support anyway
•In 2005 she woke up from her coma but her mind and body were both in a weakened state so continued the need for medical care
What is the argument for the sanctity of life?
•It argues that life is sacred and should be treated with respect due to our lives being valuable since God created us
How does Genesis support the sanctity of life?
•It illustrates how God created humans in his image, meaning humans contain something of God
- This makes human life sacred and in need of protection
How do the 10 Commandments support the sanctity of life?
•They argue we cannot take innocent human life through the commandment of “Thou shalt not murder”
How does Jesus support the sanctity of life?
•It shows how God believes human life is so valuable that he sacrificed his son for us
How does Aquinas support the sanctity of life?
•He believes humans are unique due to their ability to reason which means only humans have the purpose to order society and worship God
- This means God also has his own purpose for each individual that we should not change
How does Kant support the sanctity of life?
•He believes all rational beings deserve respect due to being “law-making members of a Kingdom of Ends” where moral laws of freedom and dignity are created
- This means we can never be used as a means to an end
What is personhood?
•It is the argument of when we consider someone as a person who has human rights
Who argues personhood begins at conception and continues until the death of the body?
•Grisez (a Catholic)
- He argues this means a patient is always a person and must be treated with sanctity which disallows euthanasia
What is the quality of life argument with euthanasia?
•It is when someone’s quality of life can be low enough that euthanasia is justified
What theory is an example of relativism?
•Utilitarianism
How does Bentham support the quality of life argument?
•He argues for maximising pleasure over pain which means euthanasia would be allowed
Who argues consciousness is what determines the quality of life?
•Glover
- This means he believes killing is only wrong if that life is conscious as the body itself is not valuable and is only useful if it can fulfil its functions (for which consciousness is needed)
What does Singer argue about quality of life?
•He argues that if a patient with a poor quality of life wants to die then they should be granted that preference if all other things are equal
What is speciesism?
•It is the belief that humans think they are more important than other animals
How does Singer believe humans engage in speciesism?
•He argues that humans believe we are special but that human life is actually not sacred so there is no obligation to keep people alive when they do not want to be
What is the acronym QUALYS used for?
•Quality Adjusted Life Year Schedules
- It is used by doctors to predict how many years of life a treatment is likely to bring which means the patient who would benefit the most is treated
What form of euthanasia is QUALYS?
•It is a form of passive euthanasia
What is autonomy?
•It is the individual freedom that humans have
Who established the Liberty Principle?
•Mill
What is the Liberty Principle?
•It argues that society can only interfere with the choice of an individual if it harms others
What quotes does Mill use to support his Liberty Principle?
•He states that “over himself, over his body and mind, the individual is sovereign”
- This means self harm is not a good enough reason to intervene
Who argues God “left to dying people the responsibility for making a decision about the manner and time of their death”?
•Küng
- He argues this as God gave people freedom and responsibility for their lives
What is Natural Law?
•It is a concept developed by Aquinas that argued if we apply reason to our natural inclinations then we will be able to discover the purpose for which God created us
What is Situation Ethics?
•It is a concept developed by Fletcher that argued decisions should be made in correlation with agape love
Who argued that “life is sometimes good, and death is sometimes good”?
•Fletcher
What did Fletcher believe about euthanasia?
•He believed euthanasia should be allowed and argued there should be no absolute moral standards in medical ethics
- He also believed human autonomy and quality of life were more important than sanctity of life
