Euthanasia Flashcards
applied ethics
quote
-“people have no reason to feel guilty about putting a Down’s Syndrome baby away, whether it’s ‘put away’ in the sense of hidden or in a more responsible lethal sense” - Fletcher
-situation ethics, promotes love, loving situation, believes that a down syndrome child should be put in hospital or euthanised
what is euthanasia?
-Greek ‘eu’ meaning ‘easy’ and ‘thanatos’ meaning ‘death’
-easy death
-intentional premature ending of another person’s life
-either: patient consents to it due to a terminal or incurable illness = voluntary OR patient doesn’t request/consent (consented to by a family member) may be in a coma or PVS - persistent vegetative state = non-voluntary
-active euthanasia by direct means, example, lethal injection (illegal in UK)
-passive euthanasia known as non-treatment decision, example, withholding medicine and life support (legal in UK)
passive vs active
-Rachels argues that passive euthanasia is actually worse as it is cruel and the process of dying may be long and drawn out
-debate known as: acts and omissions, there is a moral difference between carrying out an action and merely omitting (stopping) carrying out an action
-Singer, argues that we won’t have a samaritans law in the UK, saw a child drowning, don’t have to save them
-need to consider the argument from proportionality: suffering of illness vs suffering/ pain of death
personhood
-what separated a human being from a person
-some argue that someone in a PVS is still human but not entirely a person so euthanasia is a logical contradiction
-problem: where do you draw the line?
-Grisez and Boyle stress the importance of personhood, reject the view that one can cease to be a person and yet be bodily alive
-person in PVS hasn’t lost what makes them a person – humanity and personhood are one
sanctity of life
-based on the supreme and intrinsic specialness of human life in itself
-christianity believes in sanctity of life in its core teachings, SoL isn’t just religious
-all life is sacred, should be valued
-all human life is made in imago dei
-all made with a ‘spark of divinity’ (spark of God)
-there is a specialness to humanity as seen through scripture
-example, giving Adam stewardship over animals to name and look after them
strong sanctity of life
-often known as the pro-life position or vitalism
-argues that all life is sacred because it posses a God given soul
-no ordinary or extraordinary means justify termination of human life
-moment of conception to natural death
-no exceptions
-all innocent life must be protected
weak sanctity of life
-killing an innocent person out of love isn’t murder
-murder implies ulterior motive
-in exceptional circumstance it isn’t wrong
-no one deserves to endure a life of extreme pain
-life is a gift not a burden - not a gift if the gift giver still has ownership
quality of life
-human beings should be able to live dignified lives and end life with dignity
-respect a person’s desire to live or die
The Alkmaar Case:
-in the Netherlands in 1984 a 95 year old woman could no longer eat and drink
-she asked her doctor for a mercy kill, after the doctor had discussed this with her and her son, they decided that life was unbearable
-the doctor ended her life
-in court he argued it was his legal duty to alleviate suffering
-case contributed to legalisation of euthanasia
-Singer, argues that this shows a move away from the SoL ethic and towards a focus of QoL instead
-people now believe that a person with a low quality of life can judge for themselves if they want to end their own life
case study: Diane Pretty
-British woman who was denied the right to die
-suffered from Motor Neurone Disease
-argues that she should be allowed to die with dignity
-“the law has taken all my rights away”
case study: Tony Nicklinson
-had a stroke in 2005, paralysed and could only move his head and his eyes
-wanted to end his life but couldn’t do so without help
-asked the High Court, was refused
-eventually refused food and water and died of pneumonia
palliative care
-many believe that because palliative care is available the euthanasia shouldn’t be allowed
-palliative care = end of life care, if you have an incurable illness, they will make you as comfortable as possible by controlling pain while providing support
-holistic approach, deals with “whole” person rather than just one aspect of care
case study: Baby Charlotte
-2005, Charlotte was born prematurely and with severe brain damage, against the wishes of her parents the High Court ordered doctors not to resuscitate if the baby fell into a coma
-because her underlying condition didn’t justify the medical assistance she was being given to stay alive
-government overrides the wishes on the parents
slippery slope
-many fear that if euthanasia was made legal then the ‘slippery slope’ would happen
-value of human life will decrease based on economics (saving NHS/family money) and personal convenience
-Helga Kuhse (utilitarian bioethicist) challenges this argument
-situation in the Netherlands is not following the example of Nazi Germany in making some lives valueless for reasons other than mercy or respect
for euthanasia
-Maguire: important to respect and value life but shouldn’t be obliged to prolong it in every situation
-rejects that God alone has the power over life and death
-if God alone decides time of death does this mean we are no more than God’s property?
-we intervene to save life and preserve it, there is no real difference between ending life and preserving it
-Glover: “to refuse to provide help is a very serious denial of the person’s autonomy over the matter of his own life and death”
applied: natural law for euthanasia
-does allow for patients to refuse treatment –supports passive euthanasia
-doctrine of double effect can be applied
-burdensome treatment which unnecessarily extends life isn’t required or even allowed
-Hippocratic Oath appears to be in favour of a form of euthanasia in cases of incurable patients
-a doctor should:
“refuse to treat those who are overmastered by their disease”
applied: natural law against euthanasia
-preservation of life = euthanasia goes against this
-duty of a doctor to preserve life: Hippocratic oath
“i will give no deadly medication to any one if asked, nor suggest any such counsel”
-concerned not simply with the physical body but whole person and ultimate end
-everyone is linked to God’s ultimate plan
-ending ones life end the possibility of pursuing other precepts
-euthanasia is an apparent good that seems to alleviate pain but in fact fails to reach the greater good
natural law: but what is natural?
-life support machines = unnatural - God is taking away life that we are keeping alive on support machines
-does this mean turning off life support machine and not preserving life is acceptable to a natural lawist?
-does this also mean that all medicine/interventions that keeps us alive are unnatural? e.g pace makers
-yet pace makers are in line with the preservation of life
-yet natural law argues that we are given freewill and God given ability to reason - are doctors not using their reason to preserve life = therefore natural progression
natural law and the Catholic Church
-argue that it is a ‘rejection of God’s sovereignty and loving plan’
-it is also wrong to ask someone to assist your death, as amongst other things it violates the divine law
-but the Pope makes a distinction between ordinary and extraordinary means
-ordinary treatment = obligatory to sustain but not necessarily enhance or prolong life
-extraordinary = not obligatory
-the Pope supports the giving of ‘ordinary’ means but ‘extraordinary means isn’t expected
applied: situation ethics
-Fletcher served as president of the Euthanasia society or American 1974-76
-personhood matters
-it is a matter of dignity and patient autonomy
-quality of life is more important than sanctity of life
-on many occasions the person is no longer truly present in situations of euthanasia and therefore taking the life is permitted
-identified positive human criteria – to judge a being is a human person
1. self control
2. communication
3. curiosity
etc.
-issue = normal, healthy adults don’t show all of the 12, babies don’t show all 12
