Heinz
and His Sick Wife
Heinz and his sick wife
•Human Excellence – Virtue Ethics
Was Heinz right to steal the drug?
Give reasons for your answer.
1)
2)
Did the chemist have the right to
charge what he did for the drug? Give
reasons for your answer
3)
Was Heinz acting from any of the
moral theories we have looked at? Explain.
4)
Was the chemist acting from any of
the moral theories we have looked at?
Explain.
•Consequences - Utilitarianism
•Duty and Reason - Kant
Heinz and his Sick Wife
5) Should Heinz do as his wife asked?
6) What should he do if he makes his moral
decisions based on
a) Utilitarianism;
b) Kantian ethics;
Meet your new pet
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This is your new pet dog.
She’s trying to say “I wuv u
wots n wots n wots” but
can only make squeaking
noises because she’s 8
weeks old (that’s just over
one in dog years).
Would you like to give her
a name?
Heartbreak
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Sadly she won’t live a very
happy life.
She has a rare condition
which means her muscles
will keep getting weaker
and weaker.
Nothing can be done to
cure her.
Eventually she won’t be
able to stand, feed or
drink and die a very painful
death.
Decision time…

What are you going
to do?
1.
2.
Allow her to live
her life out
naturally.
Put her to sleep
when she starts to
feel pain.

If an animal is in pain and
nothing can be done to ease
its suffering, or it is
terminally ill, it is often put
'to sleep' by the vet. A lethal
injection is administered and
the animal dies quickly and
with minimum pain.
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If a human being is in pain we
usually attempt to ease that
pain through drugs. Even with
consent, UK law does not
allow us to put a person ‘to
sleep’ to end their suffering.
Furthermore, to take a
person's life without their
consent is understood as
murder.
A Right to live?
A right to die?
Hippocrates
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In the 4th century BCE,
he wrote the
Hippocratic Oath.
This contained moral
guidance for doctors.
The following section
assured patients that
their life would be
protected & respected
•I will prescribe for
my patients according
to my ability and my
judgement and never
do harm to anyone.
To please no one will I
prescribe a deadly
drug nor give advice
which may cause his
death.
For many years,
doctors swore this
oath as they
entered the
profession. Is this
is a good promise
for a modern
doctor to make?
It has now been largely replaced by
a statement from the GMC
Listen to patients and
respond to their
concerns & preferences.
Respect patients’ right
to reach decisions with
you about their
treatment and care.
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What important
differences are
there?
Why do you
think they have
been made?
The word ‘euthanasia’
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Means ‘a gentle death’
It’s also sometimes called ‘mercy killing’
The intention of euthanasia is to assist a
person who is suffering & maybe dying, by
giving them enough medication to kill them
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It is seen as an ‘act
of compassion’
because it will end
their suffering
It will also shorten
their life – usually
by a few days or
weeks.
In the UK
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Euthanasia is illegal
It is seen as assisting someone to
commit suicide which goes against the
Suicide Act of 1961
But a growing number of people believe
that people have a right to selfdetermination and that they should have
some control over when their life ends.
We need to be sure of the facts
unlike …
Youth In Asia
There are 3 main types of Euthanasia
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All of them are illegal in
the UK
The first 2 are performed
in some countries
Voluntary Euthanasia
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The patient asks a doctor to end their life
Non-voluntary
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The person is too ill
to ask, but it is
believed to be in
their best interests
that their life
should end.
Involuntary
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This is what happened in
Nazi Germany, when
disabled and sick people
were killed against their
will and without
consultation
If euthanasia does happen, it can be
active or passive
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Active – Withholding
treatment to deliberately
end life, or giving a drug to
end life.
Passive – Where treatment
is withheld or withdrawn
because it’s just delaying
the natural process of dying.
Or increasing the dose of
morphine to control pain,
knowing that it will also
shorten life.
Some people say this isn’t
euthanasia at all.
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Do you consider all human life to be of
equal value? Are there people in society
who are treated as if they were less
valuable?
Do you have to be religious to say that
human life is of great value? What might
a non-religious person say about the
nature and purpose of life?
Case Study 1
A doctor treating an
elderly, bed-ridden
patient at home, leaves
powerful sleeping tablets
by the bed with strict
instructions that no more
than two must be taken on
any account. The patient
has already told the
doctor she wants to die.
What do you think?….
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Was the doctor in Case study 1
right to leave the tablets, knowing
how the patient felt?
Is this the same as administering a
normal dose of painkillers by
syringe at the patient’s request?
Case Study 2
A badly deformed baby
is born and needs
immediate maximum
intensive care to survive.
The mother also needs
urgent medical care, and
the doctor deliberately
deals with her needs first.
What do you think?
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In Case study 2:
Is the delay in treating the baby the same
as ‘causing its death’?
Would it have been different if the
mother hadn’t needed such skilled medical
treatment?
Case Study 3
A doctor administers a fatal
dose of potassium chloride to
his elderly patient. She was
close to death and in great pain.
After consulting her two sons,
she asked her doctor to help
her die painlessly which he did.
The doctor noted the injection
in the medical records, making
no effort to conceal what he
had done.
Case Study 4
A brother and sister try to
administer a potentially fatal
overdose of a powerful pain killer
after their terminally ill mother
begs them to end her suffering.
They immediately tell hospital staff
what they have done and the mother
is brought back from the brink of
death only to die in terrible pain 12
days later.
What do you think?…
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In Case study 3 the authorities accused
the doctor of attempted murder. He
received a suspended sentence and was
allowed to continue his work. Do you agree
with the verdict?
Do you think the medical staff in Case
study 4 were correct in reversing the
overdose?