Unit 4 - Clashes between religious and secular values in: Euthanasia Flashcards
What is Euthanasia?
The deliberate act of ending someone’s life to relieve them of suffering.
What are the 4 types of Euthanasia?
- Voluntary euthanasia
- Involuntary euthanasia
- Passive euthanasia
- Active euthanasia
What’s voluntary euthanasia?
When a person requests that their life be ended, perhaps because they have a terminal illness that’s causing them a lot of pain.
Whats involuntary euthanasia?
When a person is unable to request that their life be ended, maybe because they’re in a coma, so a doctor or relative makes the decision.
What’s passive euthanasia?
Withholding treatment that, if administered, would keep the person alive.
What’s active euthanasia?
Deliberately ending a person’s life, for example, with lethal drugs. Active euthanasia is regarded as either murder or manslaughter under British law.
What’s assisted suicide?
When a terminally ill patient asks someone to help them take their own life, a form of active euthanasia which is illegal.
Christian teachings about euthanasia
- Most believe it’s wrong
- Life is precious and scared because it was created by God
- Christians refer to the sanctity of life
- Euthanasia is deliberate killing
- Murder’s forbidden by the 10 Commandments
- Christians have a duty to care for those who are suffering
- A person’s life is not their own
- Only God has the right to take it away
What do the Catholic Church believe about euthanasia?
- The deliberate killing of an ‘innocent’ human being is always unacceptable morally
- Life is a gift from God
- Life has unqualified value
- Life is always preferable to death
- Life doesn’t depend for its value on how much pleasure or well-being it brings
- Therefore, euthanasia is always wrong, even if it’s to relieve a human from suffering
- The Catholic C teaches that assisted suicide is also wrong
- This is because it’s the deliberate killing of a God-given life which humans don’t have the right to do
What do the COE believe about euthanasia?
- The COE recognises the importance of ‘personal autonomy’
- This is the right to make independent decisions about one’s own life
- However it also recognises that this puts an unwelcome burden on someone else to carry out euthanasia or assisted suicide
- To end the life of a human implies that their life no longer has meaning
- THIS GOES AGAINST THE CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLE OF THE SANCTITY OF LIFE
- The Church maintains that it is also better to protect life than the autonomy of the individual
- Therefore, instead of assisting the suicide of a dying person, society should offer compassionate care
What are some non-religious reasons for being opposed to euthanasia?
- A doctor’s duty is to preserve life, not to end it
- Medical advances mean that pain control is very effective and more cures for illnesses will appear
- Some patients, especially elderly ones, may agree to euthanasia against their will so that they won’t be a burden on relatives
What do people who agree with euthanasia believe?
- They say it’s not murder
- Murder is committed through anger and hatred but euthanasia is performed out of love and compassion to stop a person’s suffering
- It’s possible to put controls in place to ensure that the patient really wants their life to end
- Personal autonomy
- It’s their life
- People have the right to self-determination and to die
What are the British laws about euthanasia?
- Under the Suicide Act of 1961 it’s not illegal in Britain to commit suicide
- Voluntary euthanasia and assisting suicide remains illegal
- A patient has the right to refuse medical treatment even if it would save their life (basically passive euthanasia)
- Many people including some Christians agree with this as long as the person has the mental capacity to make such a decision
- These Christians would say if the death of the patient is God’s will, then it’d be wrong to interfere
Christian argument for suicide
- David Hume argued that committing suicide doesn’t go against Christian principles
- God created human beings with certain mental powers that can be used for their ‘ease, happiness, or preservation’
- If these mental powers lead a person to commit suicide for their ease or happiness, then suicide is allowable
What do The Samaritans do?
- Offer listening service all the time
- Run by over 20,000 volunteers
- People talk to Samaritans anytime they like about negative life issues
- ‘If things are getting to you’ go talk to them
- Help suicidal people
