Euthanasia - Pt 2 Flashcards
What is the Moor case and what does it show?
- Dr Moor relieved a patients pain with morphine that killed them, he did not disclose the dosage
- Argued allowing to die is not the same as killing
- Supported by deontologists
What do consequentialists consider when it comes to euthanasia?
- Judge a situation considering whether the outcome is good or bad
- Reject the distinction made between acts and omissions (See keywords)
What is the example of the doctor giving drugs in relation to acts and omissions?
Deontology:
- Doctor that refrains from giving drugs because nature should be allowed to take its course
- He has not killed his patient but he has allowed him to die out of respect of the life he’s living
Consequentialism:
- Omission of failing to give patient drugs and allowing him to die is equivalent to giving him drugs that hasten death
- Both outcomes result in death of patients
Why is the Consequentialist view of acts and omissions inconsistent?
- A shoots B (intended act)
- C sees A shooting B but doesn’t stop him (intended omission)
- Is C at all blameworthy?
What does the DofDE require for an act to be allowed?
- Action in itself from the outset is good
- Good effect and not the evil is intended
- Good effect is not produced by means of evil effect
- Proportionately good reason to permit the evil effect
Purity of Intention (Consequentialist vs Deontologist)
Consequentialist:
- Intention doesn’t matter when the outcome is still an evil act
Deontologist:
- Intention enriches an action, grandchild who wants to spend time with grandparents vs one that has to
Arbitrariness (Consequentialist vs Deontologist)
Consequentialist:
- Making decisions based on outcome is a systematic approach
Deontologist:
- Allowing a greater amount of suffering to take place because it was unintended in comparison to lesser amount which is intended is unreasonable
Ordinary and Extraordinary means (Consequentialist vs Deontologist)
Consequentialists :
- Who decides what ordinary and extraordinary?
- Refusal to end life may lead to suffering and loss of dignity
Deontologists:
- According to NL there is no need to commit actions that go beyond normal life-saving expectations
Proportionality and Quality of life (Consequentialist vs Deontologist)
Consequentialists:
- If prolonging life leads to greater suffering than should be acceptable to end life
Deontologists:
- Who decides what constitutes as ‘quality’?
What was the case of Tony Bland?
- After Hillsborough football stadium disaster he was in a deep coma
- Was on life support, breathing and fed through a tube
- After legal debate his life support was turned off
- Showed doctors cannot be expected to maintain a life at all costs
What is the issue of defining death?
- Old definition was when the heart ceased pumping blood around the body
- New definition is the cease of brain activity
- PVS who has lost cerebral cortex would be deemed dead
- Hard to define as brain can work at low levels and provide vital hormones
What is the dead donor rule?
- When there is no brain activity nor body function
- Each case must be reviewed on its own merits.
How does Natural Law criticise consequentialists?
- Fail to make distinction between allowing death (permitted) and cutting a life short (wrong)
- Without this primary precept of self-preservation would be a major threat to well-being of society
Social stability (NL)
- Euthanasia undermined social stability
- Undermines purpose of the citizen to maintain its laws
- Sign that society has failed in its duty to care for all its members
Duty to God (NL)
- Aquinas says primary day is to worship God
- Him and Augustine argue euthanasia is a failure of ones duty to protect an innocent life
- All forms of euthanasia are illicit and intrinsically wrong
