Euthanasia (applied ethics to situation ethics and natural law) Flashcards
What is euthanasia?
euthanasia is the painless, premature ending of someone’s life for compassionate reasons
What are euthanasia case studies?
SUCCESSFUL VOLUNTARY EUTHANASIA:[Daniel James]
- at 18, he went to a rugby match and got paralysed during it
- his family had to take complete care of him
- as a result of this, at 23, he decided he wasn’t prepared for a “second class life”, so he went to switzerland to die
What are euthanasia case studies?
NON VOLUNTARY EUTHANASIA:[Tony Bland]
- he was crushed at the hillsborough disaster which left him on life support for 4 years and suffered a range of complications
- as a result, he was granted the right to “die with dignity”
What are euthanasia case studies?
GLAD EUTHANASIA DIDN’T HAPPEN:[Richard Marsh]
- He suffered a stroke and ended up with a syndrome that made him unable to move or communicate whilst still being conscious
- Doctors asked his wife if she wanted to turn off the life support machine and she declined
- He later made full recovery
What is weak sanctity of life?
weak sanctity if life is the belief that although human life is valuable, there are certain instances where it would be more harm than good to continue on with it
- Life is a gift not a burden (Jesus intended that the sabbath is a gift for our benefit)
- Living as a christian doesn’t mean enduring extraordinary suffering (Jesus healed on the sabbath)
What is strong sanctity of life?
strong sanctity of life is the belief that human life is always valuable from the moment of conception to a natural death and there are no exceptions to this
- Human life is set apart (imago dei)
- Life is a gift from God( the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh)
- Life should always be preserved (thou shall not kill)
What is Fletcher’s view on the sanctity of life?
- fletcher rejects strong sanctity of life as he argues that you must apply agape when debating life and death
Fletcher argues that a person should not be kept alive at all costs because it doesn’t consider what is right for the person
What is Aquinas’ view on the sanctity of life?
- Aquinas rejects weak sanctity of life as ending life is wrong and also leads to apparent goods and breaks primary precepts
What is quality of life?
To belief that a person’s life has to possess certain attributes to have value, such as the experience of happiness, having autonomy or being conscious
What would the quality of life principle say about euthanasia?
it would argue that euthanasia is morally justifiable as human life is not always valuable and worth living
what is some scholarly support for the quality of life?
PETER SINGER:
- He favours the view from situation ethics
- He argues that a persons autonomy is more important than sanctity of life
What is some scholarly support for the quality of life
JOHN STUART MILL:
- he abides by his liberal principle
- his liberal principle is the idea that humans are the best judge of their own happiness and should be given freedom to live their lives as they consider appropriate
What is some scholarly support for the quality of life?
JONATHAN GLOVER:
- he argues that for a life to be worthwhile, it must also be conscious
- he argues that being alive in itself is not a good enough reason for that life to be valuable
What is some scholarly support for the quality of life?
FRANCIS BACON:
- some doctors feel as though they need to preserve a patients quality of life and this includes a duty to help the patient end his/her life in the way they see fit
What is voluntary euthanasia?
Voluntary euthanasia is a person’s life ended with their consent
What are strengths of voluntary euthanasia?
- allows individuals to die with dignity if they are having a poor quality of life
- allows individuals to have autonomy over their own lives
- we show more mercy to our pets(DAWKINS)
What are the weaknesses of voluntary euthanasia?
- goes against strong sanctity of life
- slippery slope argument
What is non voluntary euthanasia?
non voluntary euthanasia is a person’s life being ended without their consent but with the consent of someone acting in their interest
What are strengths of non voluntary euthanasia?
- for a life to be worthwhile, it must also be conscious (GLOVER)
- shows respect for the sanctity of life (life is not meant to be a burden)
What are weaknesses of non voluntary euthanasia?
- the individual has no say over their lives
- goes against strong sanctity of life
