Euthanasia From Greek EU and Thanatos means good

Euthanasia From Greek “EU” and “Thanatos” - means “good death” The idea is that you go out on your own terms and by your own free will Some use “Euthanasia” to mean the doctor kills the patient, and “assisted death” to mean the doctor only provides a prescription and the patient kills themself

First Distinctions Voluntary – The person chooses it Non-voluntary – The person is not capable of the choice Involuntary it is against the person’s wishes (the death penalty)

Second Distinctions Passive Euthanasia - “Pulling the plug” Ending “extraordinary means, ” e. g. , a feeding tube or a ventilator Active Euthanasia - Someone must induce death - Direct = the doctor does it (Euthanasia) - indirect = the doctor helps the patient to do it herself. (assisted death)

Physician Assisted Suicide

Do we have a right to take our own lives? Always? Sometimes? Never?

Thomas Aquinas Natural Law Theory An action is right if it “agrees with our nature, ” wrong if it “goes against our nature” For example: P 1: The Purpose of Sex is to reproduce P 2: Gay sex cannot result in reproduction C: Gay sex is immoral

The Natural Law Argument against Suicide 1. Living things naturally try to preserve themselves (self -preservation), since suicide goes against this natural impulse, it’s morally wrong. 2. By nature we are communal animals. As such we belong, in part, not to ourselves, but to our communities. So, we may not harm what belongs to the community, since suicide harms what belongs the community, it’s wrong on that score too. 3. God owns our life and only God can decide when we die, so it would be wrong for us to “play God” by taking our own lives.

It's God's choice not ours P 1: God is the author of life and death P 2: It is blasphemy to “play God” and take that role on ourselves P 3: In addition, God must have a reason for having us go through this pain C: We cannot take our own lives even in the face of terminal illness and terrible pain

David Hume: on Suicide 1711 -1776 1. It is no crime against God. Since to claim only God can decide when we die, would also have to mean that we can do nothing to prolong our lives. 2. It is no crime against society. We are not obligated to provide some small benefit to society at the cost of great harm to ourselves. 3. It is no crime against ourselves. We are not obligated to keep living when doing so would be sheer misery for us.

Arguments for Assisted Death The Argument from the patient's right to choose - - P 1: Patients have an absolute right over their own lives P 2: Legally forbidden assisted death denies them this right __________ C: Patients should be allowed assisted death

The Armen Meiwes Objection

The argument from mercy P 1: To force a patient to endure pointless suffering is cruel P 2: To permit a patient to end their suffering is merciful P 3: We ought to be merciful and not cruel C: We should allow Assisted Death

Against Euthanasia It's always wrong to take a life! Kant (Deontology) P 1: A Person must always be treated with absolute value P 2: To kill a person – even yourself – is not to treat a person with absolute value -----------------C: You may not kill any innocent person, even yourself

A Doctor must never kill a patient for any reason

Killing vs “Allowing to die”

Dangerous precedent

The Dangerous Precedent 1: If we allow assisted suicide for the terminally ill, then what’s next? 2. Perhaps we will allow the chronically ill, but non -terminal to take their own lives? 3. Perhaps we will allow the Doctor to actually do the killing? 4. Perhaps we will allow the clinically depressed to take their lives? The disabled? The “undesirables”?

The Value of Life argument P 1: Life has meaning and value even up to the last moment. P 2: Life has meaning and value even in the face of awful suffering P 3: The most important thing in life is the meaning we find in it and the value we gain from it C: So we would be wrong to prematurely deprive ourselves (and those around us) of the meaning and value of our lives.