Euthanasia Flashcards
(29 cards)
suicide:
When a person dies as a direct results of own voluntary actions
assisted suicide:
When a person dies as a direct result of own actions but help of another person
Non voluntary euthanasia
when a person’s life is ended without their consent, but consent of someone representing their interests
Active Euthanasia
when death is brought about by an act e.g. overdose by painkillers
Passive euthanasia
When a doctor withdraws life- sustaining treatment which indirectly causes death
Quality of life
life mist have some intrinsic worth or benefit to be worth living
PVS
Condition in which patient is completely unresponsive to psychological and physical stimuli and displays no sign of higher brain function being kept alive due to medical intervention.
Doctrine of Double effect
Perform an act which has negative side effect but had positive intent
Sanctity of life
Belief that life is sacred and belongs to God
Law on euthanasia
Euthanasia is treated as manslaughter and murder, illegal. First countries to legalise Netherlands in 2001 and Belgium in 2002. Special provisions in many EU countries for lenient sentencing and consideration of extenuating circumstances. In UK- Assisted dying bill 2015, rejected by House of Lords, deemed illegal in 1961 comes under suicide act.
Euthanasia
Greek- “eu” means good “thanotos” means death- good death.
Voluntary euthanasia
When a person’s death directly caused by another person at their request and consent.
Personal autonomy
Issue: Everyone owns their indiviual life and therefore has right to decide when to diem view that a peron’s autonomy over their life supports euthanasia because decisions makde about their life should include decisions about when/how to die.
J.S. mill: UT- right to live/ die is our own if no harm is done to others
Problems with Personal Autonomy
if patients wishes are made on faulty information eg depressed so clouds their judgement or cure will be found after death-> request for euthanasia easier than good care
To what extend can a person choose to die at expense of others? does freedom to choose death force others to act upon action
The slippery slope argument
Issue: argument for legitimate reasons euthanasia could led to euthanasia for non- lethal conditions
Haldane and Macintyre: support argument- bill could lead from those who are in unbearable suffering to merely fear of unbearable suffering, if quality of life is grounds of euthanasia then it could extend to those who cant request it. eg- puts pressure on the vunerable eg elderly/ disabled.
Slippery slope argument against-
Kuhse- against he argued it was just scaremongering to ban all forms of euthanasia- gave the nazi examples
Nazi Germany: used eugenic ( idea of producing good offspring) to justify killing of “inferior” humans in order to produce racially “superior” beings through convincing the Germans that euthanasia should be given to those who burn society. ( Nazi euthanasia code name was Operation T4 to eliminate unworthy life_
The role Of Doctors- Trust
Issue: Role of doctor is to heal- Hippocratic oath that doctors must not willingly harm anyone
Legal position: In UK doctors can legally switch life support machines off with consent of a family.
Right of medic: should the medic have a right to refuse life support as they are killing the patient and damage their reputation as a person who heals- who would want surgery from a surgeon who actively killed someone albeit someone who requested euthanasia.
The role Of Doctors- Trust (2)
Pence: States doctor isn’t helping them to die as they are already dying- you aren’t murdering but speeding process up. Voluntary euthanasia is moral thing to do forcing someone to die slowly death is cruel.
Tony Bland: PVS state and requested withdraw, and through appeal which went from appeal court’s to house of lords- his tube was removed and died 11 days later.
Doctor Death: Kevorkian advertised death counselling, helped terminally ill to die and helped over 130 people. Killed Youk suffered from ALS which destroyed mind but body remained active, filmed giving injections and consent but sentenced to 10-25 years of 2nd degree murder but released after 8.
Personhood
Issue: Person wouldn’t let the murder of a person, but what is a person. If a being isn’t a person should you kill that person?
QOL 2 definitions:
1- Health related quality of life: How individuals are affected by their health, usage: look at available drugs and decide treatment based on if it is good value for money for treating patient w side effects and costs.
- Quality adjusted life years: Considers factors such as pain, mobility and psychological state to judge person’s quality of life. Usage: calculate how much extra time gained from treatment if medication costs more then 20,000 per QALY- not cost effective.
Personhood (2)
Singer: finds that sanctity of life is out of date and irrelevant, humans are not made in image of God, just because you are human doesn’t make you a person.
Mahoney: 5 criteria for personhood: rationality ( ability to reason and make choices), Sentience ( ability to sense and have experience) emotions ( ability to feel emotion like anger/passion) , free will ( able to decide your own course of action) and continuity ( having sense of one’s own past present and future)
Quality of life-
Issue: what consitutes a life worth living? 3 ideas of basis for quality of life: happiness, autonomy, consiousness.
Support QoL: Singer, Glover
Against Qol: Carr
weak sanctity of life: Although human life is valuable there may be situations when it would cause more harm than good to continue, killing somsone out of life isn’t equivalent to murder. Murder implies revenge, anger, greed.
Quality of life (2)
Singer: Someone’s life is respected because of its quality, not simply because they’re alive, 5 criteria for personhood ( developed Locke’s idea) recognise worth of human life varies; take responsibility for consequences of your decision; respect a person’s desire to live or die, bring children into world only if they’re wanted, do not discriminate on basis of species.
Glover: for life to be worthwhile a person must be conscious, can extortionary mean improve QoL for patient? he supports non voluntary euthanasia
Carr: spoke against assisted dying Bill because people’s lives ended without their consent, through mistakes and bise, risk of person feeling they must be euthantized due to family pressure and not wanting to be a burden
QoL and double affect
Double affect: Refers to a doctor who acts with good intentions ( pain relief drugs) causing bad consequences ( pain relief drugs shorten life) developed by RC- can perform act with good/ bad affect if: act must be good or neutral, good affect not created from bad action, bad affect must not be intended, only permitted. Most important is doctor’s intention to be morally correct: teaching wouldn’t allow the intended death of an innocent.
Sanctity of life
Issue: Human life is sacred, special value and God given, euthanasia is immoral as killing human life 3 sources justify santicity of life: Bible, use of reason and church teaching.
Support SoL: schweitzer, Aquinas, RC
Against: Warren, Glover, singer
SOL argument: Vitalists: human life is sacred for God given soul and no jsutification for removal of human life from moment of creastion to death, all innocent life must be protected. No ordinary/ extordinary argument for termination of human life ( moment of conception) life is set apart- value of human life is a gift from God so only God can remove it.
