Euthanasia Flashcards
Sanctity of life
The sanctity of life is the idea that human life is made in God’s image and so is sacred in value.
Quality of life
means human life has to possess certain attributes in order to have value. For example, someone having good physical and mental health, an education, financial stability.
Origins of sanctity of life
there is something special and holy about life. For Christians, human life is different because we share something of the nature of God. The first book of the Old Testament (Genesis) describes how God made Adam, and: “Breathed into his nostrils the breath of life”
Secular origins of quality of life
Singer believes that people nowadays make decisions based on their quality of life rather than sanctity of life.
Euthanasia
is the deliberate ending of someone’s life out of compassion.
Voluntary euthanasia
Voluntary euthanasia means a person’s life is ended at their request or with their consent.
Reasons for using voluntary euthanasia
Suffering from a terminal illness.
Unlikely to benefit from the discovery of a cure for that illness during what remains of their life expectancy.
Suffering intolerable pain.
Their life is unacceptably burdensome.
Has an enduring, voluntary and competent wish to die.
Unable without assistance to end their life.
Non-voluntary euthanasia
Non-voluntary euthanasia means a person’s life is ended without their consent but with the consent of someone representing their interests.
Non-voluntary euthanasia should be in the interest of the person who dies and not anyone else.
Tony Bland example
When doctors at Airedale Hospital in Yorkshire asked the High Court for permission to withdraw artificial nutrition and hydration from Hillsborough victim Tony Bland, his family supported the application.
After the Hillsborough stadium tragedy, Tony was left in a persistent vegetative state - and hence was not legally dead. His parents believed their son would not want to be kept alive in such a condition. They petitioned the court to sanction the withdrawal of hydration and artificial nutrition, which it did.
Situation ethics and euthanasia
The debate over euthanasia relies on one basic question according to Fletcher.
For the situationist, the issue is whether it is harder to justify letting someone die a slow and ugly death, dehumanised than it is to justify helping them escape from such misery.
Natural law and euthanasia
When applying natural law, the primary precepts should be recalled.
In the case of euthanasia, the key precept to do good and avoid evil and the primary precept to preserve life, which upholds the sanctity of life and consequently the belief that only God has the right to give and take life, are particularly important.
Catholic teaching on euthanasia
According to the Bible, we are created in God’s image and knitted together by God in the womb (Psalm 139:13).
The Catholic Church’s teachings on euthanasia conclude that euthanasia is wrong (Pastoral Constitution, Gaudium et Spes, no. 27, 1965) as life is sacred and a gift from God, ‘which they are called upon to preserve and make fruitful’ (Declaration on Euthanasia, 1980).
Sanctity of life is meaningful
The sanctity of life principle is based on the Jewish and Christian biblical belief that life is a gift from God and is on loan to humans.Genesis says that people are made “in the image of God” (Genesis 1:26-27).
This means people are in some way reflections of God. Christians and Jews make up a large proportion of the UK. In the last census, nearly 50% of people considered themselves to be Christian. For them, the SOL has meaning in medical ethics.
Secular argument against SOL
Sanctity of life is a religious concept. In many parts of Western Europe, people are becoming more secular (less religious). So religious teachings and concepts/laws arguably have less significance and importance. Peter Singer has strongly argued that it is now time to abandon the sanctity of life principle in favour of the non-religious quality of life argument.
Quality of life counter-argument
The quality of life principle says that a life is only worthwhile if it can fulfil those things which make life worth living. There is nothing intrinsically good about being alive besides enabling us to experience those things which are desired. In other words, human life has to possess certain attributes to have value.
