Euthanasia

• Glover FOR

  • being alive is not sufficient enough for life to be valuable
  • for life to be worthwhile, you must be conscious
  • killing someone is allowed if they are in a coma
• Voluntary Euthanasia

  • consensual suicide, due to poor quality of life
  • supported by JS. Mill - 'over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign'
  • Mill's liberalism, taking one's life is a matter of personal autonomy
  • JS. Mill - the value of life comes from the ability to determine ones future through autonomy and self-rule
• Voluntary Euthanasia Case Study

  Dr. Nigel Cox and Lilian Boyles - Lilian was dying of arthritis and asked Cox to help her die. He refused so she refused medication. Cox saw her in so much pain so administered a lethal injection for her to die peacefully. Cox was charged with attempted murder.
• Euthanasia

  'a good death' or a mercy killing

  • aims to promote quality of life
  • ends pain
  • avoids loss of dignity
• FOR

  • allows a peaceful death
  • prevents suffering
  • reduces suicide
  • the individual has autonomy
  • hospital equipment can be used for more urgent cases
  • Consequentialism - ends as means, not giving drugs to a patient is the same as giving them drugs to hasten death, because both result in the death of the patient
  • Quality of life principle - human life must possess certain attributes to have value, eg. consciousness
  • Instrumentalism - life is only worth living if it can fulfil those attributes
  • Utilitarians - happiness judgements, if quality of life cannot be maintained, life is not worth living
• AGAINST

  • Sanctity of life principle (Genesis) - God gave life, only he can take it away
  • Slippery slope argument - where do we draw the line of what can be allowed?
  • Helga Kushe (against slipper slope argument) - it is used to scare us and to ban euthanasia, instead believes the use of Nazi ideology is a reason to not allow euthanasia
  • Murder, euthanasia is illegal in Britian
  • Medical opinions - it is increasingly difficult to determine whether a person has reached a stage where 'life' is still worth living
• Peter Singer FOR

  • quality of life argument
  • the value of life depends on the person's ability to have desires and preferences
  • babies, dementia patients, or people on life support are not real humans
• Doctrine of Double Effect

  • deontologists - the quality of intention is important
  • consequentialists - purity of intention, an evil act is an evil act regardless of intentions
• Euthanasia Case Studies

  • Diane Pretty - had MND, wanted her husband to help with assisted suicide, case disallowed in court, feared husband would be prosecuted, she later died of natural causes
  • Baby Charlotte - born with severe brain damage, courts ordered not to aid her if in a coma, against her parents' wishes, she later died
• Hippocratic Oath

  • must not play at God, life takes its own course
  • do no harm
• slippery slope

  allowed once then becomes accepted
• legalising euthanasia

  pros - reduces suicide, allows peace and dignity

  cons - sanctity of life, slippery slope
• Consequentialism

  ends and means - if outcome is good, the action is good
• Helga Kushe

  • challenges slippery slope, bribes it is used to scare people
  • disputes the use of the Nazi ideology as a reason to not allow euthanasia
• Medical Advancements

  it is increasingly difficult to determine whether a person has reached a state of ‘life’ which is no longer worth living
• Suicide Act

  • 1961
  • a crime to commit suicide
  • 14 years prison time
• Instrumentalist view

  life is only worth living if it can fulfil those things which make life worth living, eg. consciousness
• Peter Singer

  quality of life principle - babies, dementia patients, those in life support believed not to be real humans
• Mill

  euthanasia is decided by autonomy, idea of liberalism
• Utilitarian judgements

  1. total happiness judgement - the better quality of life, the longer you live
  2. average happiness judgement - maintained quality of life
  3. higher qualities judgement - quality of life judged by minimum standards, eg. memory