Euthanasia

Question 1

How would NML respond to Euthansia?

Answer 1

Aquinas would take a strong sanctity of life stance.
He would say that Natural moral law was against God’s will and likely invoke his primary precept ‘to preserve life’

Question 2

How would a situation ethicist respond to Euthanasia?

Answer 2

A situation ethicist would decide based on the individual circumstances, choosing what they they to be the most loving option.
They would likely consider the person’s quality of life or the response of their family.

Question 3

Which of the six working principles of SE might serve as an issue in application of SE to Euthanasia?

Answer 3

The principle of pragmatism states that it (being the decision) must be practical. Arguably keeping someone alive on a ventilator and using hospital resources , while it might be loving, is impractical.

Question 4

Why would fletchers intention to find a mid way between legalism and antinomianism along with his principle of relativism be a problem for euthanasia?

Answer 4

The disabled community have long been again the legalising of Euthanasia, because of the feeling some have of being a burden to their care givers. The most loving action in these situations would be hard to decide. Laws against euthanasia also prevent it from ever being used in any type of social leaning scheme.

Question 5

Why would Flecter’s fundamental principle that ‘ only her end justifies the means’ be a legal issue in the case of euthanasia.

Answer 5

The means in the case of assisted suicide could be justified by the end ‘ to end suffering’, but it cannot be proven that these cases are always true.

Question 6

what is voluntary euthanasia?

Answer 6

A person’s life is ended at their request and with their consent.

Question 7

What is non-voluntary euthanasia?

Answer 7

A person’s life is ended without their consent but with the consent of someone representing their interests.

Question 8

Why might the strong or weak sanity of life principles be preferred over the quality if life principle?

Answer 8

Because the quality of life principle has to provide particular properties a person should have in order to be considered ‘a person’ or ‘alive’, thus someone in a perstitant vegetative state may be considered no longer a person and this could have negative implications.

Question 9

Why might 21st century medical ethics have a different view on the sanctity of life principe?

Answer 9

1. Medical advancements that articfiaclly prolong life have been developed, which changes the point of which a persons is considered “dead”.
2. The long standing debate about abortion has meant that the idea that life is sacred from conception is a point of contention.
3. The Liverpool pathway.

Question 10

Differentiate between the weak and strong sanity if life stances.

Answer 10

The strong sanity of life principle maintains that life is sacred in all situations and from conception until natural death. to intervene is to go against gods will.
the weak sanctity of life principle is the idea that even though life is invariably sacred, in exceptional circumstances, it not not morally wrong to end life.

Question 11

Which scholar pushed the secular idea that the value of human life varies?

Answer 11

Peter singer. He would say that quality of life is more important hat value of life. He also championed animals being treated as equals to humans and promoted veganism.

Question 12

In which case is the idea of human bodily autonomy changed?

Answer 12

In the case of Diane Petty, she had motor neurone disease and wanted to end her life. She petitioned the uk courts who eventually said no. she argued that she has this right under the human rights act.
The humans rights right does believe that the right to self determination is corollary to the right to die.

Question 13

What happened in the case of Tony Bland?

Answer 13

He was injured in the Hillsborough disaster. After a lengthy legal debate, he was taken off life support in 1993.

Question 14

Why is there a debate as to whether or not there is a moral difference between medical intervention to end a person’s life and non medical intervention to end a person’s life?

Answer 14

The Liverpool pathway is ….
If the withdrawal of medical care causes someone to die internationally, the aim and result are the same as the opposite.

Question 15

Bible verses against euthanasia

Answer 15

“God made humankind in his image”

Question 16

What does the catechism say about Euthanasia?

Answer 16

Discontinuing medical procedures that are […] disproportionate to the outcome can be legitimate.

Question 17

What does the British medical association say?

Answer 17

Competent patients have the right to refuse any treatment, including life prolonging treatment.

Question 18

What is the slippery slope argument?

Answer 18

The argument that claims if a rule is weakened, even for good reasons, then what eventually follows if this keeps happening will be undesirable.

Question 19

What is paternalism?

Answer 19

To act in a fatherly way. Justifies overriding someone autonomy if it so for their own good.

Question 20

What is a potential problem with paternalism? (Mill)

Answer 20

John Stuart Mill’s “Liberal principle” states that human are always the best judge of their own happiness and they should be given maximum freedom to live their lives a they want to. A Liberal society avoids ‘tyrannising’ in Mill’s words

Question 21

Quote from Johnathon Cleaver: accusing death and saving lives.

Answer 21

“I have no way of refuting someone who holds that being alive,even though unconscious, is intrinsically valuable. But it is a view that will seem unattractive to those of use who, in our own case, see a permanent coma in no way as preferable to death. From a subjective point of view, there is nothing to choose between the two.”