Euthanasia
By
Jared
McGahee
THE ETHICAL DEBATE
The ethics of assisted suicide and euthanasia are before the public eye. A steady
drumbeat of media attention and mounting concern about the control another person’s life
has generated serious consideration of legalizing the practices of euthanasia. Public
discussion has centered on the desire for control over the timing and manner of death,
amidst warnings about the potential abuse or harm of overriding society's long-standing
prohibitions against assisting suicide or directly causing another person's death.
Concurrent with this public debate, but in many ways separate from it, has been
the discussion of assisted suicide and euthanasia in the medical and ethical literature. In
this debate, some assert that both assisted suicide and euthanasia are morally wrong and
should not be provided, regardless of the circumstances of the particular case. Others
hold that assisted suicide or euthanasia are ethically legitimate in rare and exceptional
cases, but that professional standards and the law should not be changed to authorize
either practice. Finally, others believe that assisted suicide and euthanasia should be
recognized as legally and morally acceptable options in the care of dying or severely ill
patients.
For thousands of years, philosophers and religious thinkers have addressed the
ethics of suicide. These debates have rested on broad principles about duties to self and
to society as well as fundamental questions of the value of human life. Many great
thinkers of Western philosophical history have contributed to this debate, ranging from
Plato and Aristotle in ancient Greece to Augustine and Thomas Aquinas in the Middle
Ages, and Locke, Hume, and Kant in more modern times. In other eras and civilizations,
the debate about suicide touched on values that influenced the course of Western thought
and still echo in today’s debates over suicide. The word "euthanasia" derives from
Greek, although as used in ancient Greece, the term meant simply "good death," not the
practice of killing a person for benevolent motives. In ancient Greece, euthanasia was not
practiced, and suicide itself was generally disfavored. Some Greek philosophers,
however, argued that suicide would be acceptable under exceptional circumstances.
Plato, for example, believed that suicide was generally cowardly and unjust but that it
could be ethically acceptable if an individual had an immoral and incorrigible character,
had committed a disgraceful action, or had lost control over his or her actions due to grief
or suffering.
Unlike contemporary believers of assisted suicide and euthanasia, who regard
individual self-determination as central, Plato considered the individual's desire to live or
die largely irrelevant to determining whether suicide might be an appropriate act. An
objective evaluation of the individual's moral worthiness, not the individual's decision
about the value of continued life, was critical. Since ancient times, Jewish and Christian
thinkers have opposed suicide as inconsistent with the human good and with
responsibilities to God. In the thirteenth century, Thomas Aquinas backed Catholic
teaching about suicide in arguments that would shape Christian thought about suicide for
centuries.
Many who favor legalizing physician-assisted suicide see little distinction
between assisted suicide and euthanasia. Both practices rest on commitments to respect
independence and prevent suffering. Some acknowledge that a practice of euthanasia
with the patient's consent is likely to lead to euthanasia for patients incapable of
expressing consent or refusal. They believe that non-voluntary euthanasia would be
appropriate when it reflects some information about the patient's own wishes or when it
relieves the patient's suffering. Others accept euthanasia for patients too ill or too young
to decide for themselves because they see no value in continued life for severely disabled
individuals who permanently lack the ability to experience life consciously or to relate to
others. Essentially, some believe that these individuals do not "have a life" in the sense
in which life is treasured.
Euthanasia is a highly debated topic in all parts of the world. If the process is
done without any flaws then I think it should be legalized. However, strict laws should
govern this practice and keep it from getting out of hand. Only the terminal ill should
have the option of euthanasia. Even though “life” is considered a treasure, nobody
should have to live their life in unbearable pain.
Reference Page
History of Euthanasia. International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assissted
Suicide. <www.euthanasia.com> 2002.
Marker Rita L., Problems with Euthanasia. <www.euthanasia.com> 2002.
Ethical aspects of Euthanasia. <www.religioustolerance.org/euth2.htm#poll>
2002.
Religious Aspects of Euthanasia. <www.religioustolerance.org> 2002.