L07-Euthanasia

Question 1

What is the legal status on euthanasia?

Answer 1

Killing is illegal and a crime in the UK therefore so is euthanasia. It is prohibited by criminal law.

Question 2

What is criminal law?

Answer 2

To be guilty of criminal law you must commit the ‘guilty act’ with ‘guilty mind’

Question 3

When is killing not a crime in terms of patients?

Answer 3

When administering a large dose of pain killers where the primary intention is to relieve pain and the consequence may be death. As long as the intention is not death.
Also to withdraw treatment when a patient is brain dead as by law they are already considered dead.
To withdraw treatment from patients with no hope of recovery (PVS) this is because there is no duty of care to patients where treatment is futile.

Question 4

What is the difference between euthanasia and physician assisted suicide?

Answer 4

Euthanasia is intentionally causing the death of a person, the motive being to benefit that person or protect him/her from further suffering.
Physician assisted suicide the patient is in control of the act of suicide and the other person simply helps.

Question 5

What is the difference between active and passive euthanasia?

Answer 5

Active is an action that will directly cause the patients death e.g. injecting poisonous substance.
Passive is the action of withdrawing effective treatments so the patient dies e.g. not treating pneumonia.

Question 6

What is the difference between voluntary and non-voluntary euthanasia?

Answer 6

Voluntary is with the consent of the person who will die from the euthanasia.
Non-voluntary is when the person who will die from the euthanasias wishes are unknown.

Question 7

What is the doctrine of double effect?

Answer 7

The doctrine (or principle) of double effect is often invoked to explain the permissibility of an action that causes a serious harm, such as the death of a human being, as a side effect of promoting some good end. e.g. pain meds causing death

Question 8

What four criteria must be met for the doctrine of double effect to make the act permisable?

Answer 8

􀂾 Permissible: What is done must be permissible as dictated by the law e.g. giving pain killers
􀂾 Intention: only the good effects eg You intend pain relief only and not death
􀂾 Means: pain relief can’t be achieved through bad effects (i.e. killing them so they feel no pain).
􀂾 Proportionality = there must be proportionality between the good and bad effects
need for act vs effects of act 􀃆 Give right dose of drug

Question 9

What are the ethical arguements for and against euthanasia?

Answer 9

For (CLAJ):

• Compassion - act of humanitarianism to end pain and suffering
• Legal protection for doctors who already do this unlawfully
• Autonomy of patients to decide to end their life
• Justice for patients unable to end their life because patients who are capable are able to

Against:

• Killing is wrong, doctors should not harm patients
• Sanctity of life, life is precious regardless of quality
• Inadequacy of care, people wanting to end their life is simply inadequacy of palliative care to alleviate symptoms.
• Profesional fallibility - doctors make mistakes that could lead to uncertain diagnoses that lead to wanting to end life
• Slippery slope, could lead to abuse from families pressuring burdeoning relatives into dying.