Medical ethics

Question 1

What is voluntary euthanasia?

Answer 1

Ending life painlessly when someone in great pain asks for death

Question 2

What is involuntary euthanasia?

Answer 2

Ending someone’s life painlessly when they are unable to ask e.g. switching off a life support machine, removing a feeding tube, do not resuscitate.

Question 3

What is active euthanasia?

Answer 3

The painless killing of someone dying from a painful disease. Usually a doctor might administer the drug rather than the patient. Intention is to kill the patient.

Question 4

What is passive euthanasia?

Answer 4

When medical treatment is withdrawn or when treatment is refused and the person is allowed to die.

Question 5

What is extraordinary means?

Answer 5

When doctors use excessive means of treatment, (medicines/operations) that bring no reasonable hope or benefit.

Question 6

What is euthanasia?

Answer 6

In Greek euthanatos, means a gentle and easy death.

Question 7

What is assisted suicide?

Answer 7

Providing a seriously ill person with the means to commit suicide. The intention is to end the life of the patient.

Question 8

What do philosophers say about personhood?

Answer 8

When philosophers claim that humans are persons, they attribute certain characteristics to humans, which means they are persons. These attributes for many philosophers mean that as persons, humans should be entitled to good quality of life and, therefore, they should have the right to assisted suicide/euthanasia.

Question 9

What characteristics does Singer say makes us a person?

Answer 9

The ability to use reason (Singer and Fletcher)
The ability to imagine and desire a future existence (Tooley/Singer)
To have preferences e.g. not to feel pain (Singer)
Many philosophers do not believe in God or a soul (Singer)

Question 10

What characteristics does Fletcher say makes us a person?

Answer 10

The ability to make free choices using our reason through the process of the conscience (Fletcher)
The ability to use reason (Singer and Fletcher)

Question 11

What characteristics does Michael Tooley say makes us a person?

Answer 11

The ability to be self conscious (Michael Tooley)
The ability to imagine and desire a future existence (Tooley/Singer)

Question 12

What else makes us a person?

Answer 12

The ability to make moral decisions

Question 13

What do Singer and Fletcher mean by the ability to use reason with regards to euthanasia?

Answer 13

For euthanasia/AS because humans can use reason to make their reasoned and informed decisions about their quality of life

Question 14

How does the ability to make moral decisions apply to euthanasia?

Answer 14

Because we can reflect and make moral decisions about our quality of life and how we die as autonomous agents and we have a conscience which allows us to make moral decisions about euthanasia and whether our quality of life makes life worth living.

Question 15

How does our ability to be self conscious apply to euthanasia?

Answer 15

Because we can reflect on our own self and what it means to be a human. This ability gives us the right to make free choices about how to end our lives and our quality of life.

Question 16

How does our ability to imagine and desire a future existence apply to euthanasia?

Answer 16

Because we can imagine how we can live a poor quality of life crippled with pain and how we might die in pain and people want to avoid this suffering by having euthanasia/assisted suicide

Question 17

How does our ability to use our conscience apply to euthanasia?

Answer 17

We can use our reason and decide that having euthanasia is pragmatic, relative to love, puts people above the law. Having choices over our quality of life and right to die with dignity through euthanasia is more important than obeying a law which bans euthanasia. This is the process of conscience at work.

Question 18

How does the belief in no God or soul apply to euthanasia?

Answer 18

Therefore they can dismiss the sanctity of life arguments in favour of the quality of life arguments for euthanasia and assisted suicide based on the qualities that persons have.

Question 19

Give Mill’s quote about autonomy, which means people can make their own decisions about how they die.

Answer 19

“Over himself, over his body and mind the individual is sovereign.”

Question 20

Give Jack Kervorkian’s quote about autonomy, which means people can make their own decisions about how they die.

Answer 20

“In my review the highest principle in medical ethics…is self determination…”

Question 21

Describe the process of euthanasia portrayed by Peter Smedley.

Answer 21

2 doctors must agree that the person is suffering and dying and in a sane state of mind to make a decision about their quality of life and how they die. Doctors should follow the Do not harm principle.

Question 22

Why does Singer support euthanasia?

Answer 22

Singer claims that we should allow euthanasia based on quality of life because we are rational persons capable of making true preferences about when and how we die and whether our lives are worth living or not based on their quality. We also have preferences for a future existence and our preference may be to die if we are living without dignity.

Question 23

What is QUALYS?

Answer 23

Quality Adjusted Life Years Schedule. It is a practical system put in place in the health care system to determine where costs can be used most effectively in hospitals. Units of measurements are taken and used to work out where resources are best used.

Question 24

What does Kamisar say about the use of reason?

Answer 24

Humans have the characteristics of personhood such as reason but it is difficult to use reason properly when you are in a great deal of pain and suffering.

Question 25

What do natural moral law theorists say about self determination?

Answer 25

It is not a human right if people believe in a natural right to life that is God given and that life is sacred.

Question 26

What impact could euthanasia have on Doctors?

Answer 26

To allow doctors the right to decide to give euthanasia based on poor quality of life puts an unbearable burden on them. Doctors choose to take the Hippocratic Oath by which they promise to save life, not kill people.

Question 27

How can preferences be applied to family members?

Answer 27

Some family members have a preference for their loved ones not to die so whose preference is most important?

Question 28

What does Dame Cicely Saunders say about euthanasia?

Answer 28

By allowing euthanasia it admits defeat over death so euthanasia should not be allowed if this is the case.