euthanasia

Question 1

agency - euthanasia

Answer 1

voluntary (expressed a desire to die, asks to/for help to)
non-voluntary (unable to express their wishes or unable to understand the choice/have sincere wishes one way or the other)
involuntary (expressed a desire not to die)

Question 2

action - euthanasia

Answer 2

active - administering a treatment that will end life
non-treatment options - either withdrawing life-sustaining treatment or the refusal to give life-saving treatment
> legal in the UK eg. Archie Battersby

Question 3

‘Those whose lives are…’

Answer 3

‘Those whose lives are diminished or weakened deserve special respect [and] should be helped to lead lives as normal as possible.’ - Paragraph 2276, The Catechism of the Catholic Church

Question 4

‘Whatever its motives and means, direct…’

Answer 4

‘Whatever its motives and means, direct euthanasia consists in putting an end to the lives of handicapped, sick, or dying person. It is morally unacceptable.’ - Paragraph 2277, The Catechism of the Catholic Church

Question 5

‘an act or omission which, of itself or…’

Answer 5

‘an act or omission which, of itself or by intention, causes death in order to eliminate suffering constitutes a murder gravely contrary to the dignity of the human person and to the respect due to the living God, his Creator.’ - Paragraph 2277, The Catechism of the Catholic Church

Question 6

‘Discontinuing medical procedures that…’

Answer 6

Discontinuing medical procedures that are burdensome, dangerous, extraordinary, or disproportionate to the expected outcome can be legitimate; it is the refusal of “over-zealous” treatment.’ - Paragraph 2278, The Catechism of the Catholic Church

Question 7

‘Here one does not will…’

Answer 7

‘Here one does not will to cause death; one’s inability to impede it is merely accepted.’ - Paragraph 2278, The Catechism of the Catholic Church

Question 8

‘Even if death is thought imminent, the ordinary care owed to a sick…’

Answer 8

‘Even if death is thought imminent, the ordinary care owed to a sick person cannot be legitimately interrupted. The use of painkillers to alleviate the sufferings of the dying, even at the risk of shortening their days, can be morally in conformity with human dignity if death is not willed […] but foreseen and tolerated’ - Paragraph 2279, The Catechism of the Catholic Church

Question 9

what beliefs motivate the view of the Catholic Church?

Answer 9

• imago dei (humans are ‘made in the image of God’) - there is something special about human life, about being here
• preservation of innocent life (primary precepts)

Question 10

issues with the Catholic Catechism’s view on euthanasia

Answer 10

• uses vague, ambiguous terms: over-zealous care, disproportionate, etc.
• how can we be sure that someone is dying?
• how can intention to kill and intention to reduce suffering be separated?
• what is the line for when someone is imminently dying and therefore 2279 is applicable?
• arguably, 2279 becomes consequentialist

Question 11

Genesis 22

Answer 11

• Abraham is asked by God to sacrifice his son as a test
• the world in which Abraham, was most polytheistic and it was traditional for people to make sacrifices to the Gods so that they would be blessed
• given the context, the shocking part of the story is that God told him not to make the sacrifice (so the start of monotheism is accompanied by the idea that this God doesn’t need you to give up your children for Him - we shouldn’t throw life away)
• sanctity of life

Question 12

‘all the days ordained for me…’

Answer 12

‘all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be’ - Psalm 139
> complete control over our lives, already planned them out for us
> our suffering is not something we should try to find a way out of - there is a reason that these things happen, we shouldn’t be so quick to try and take control

Question 13

connection between Kant, Mill, and Aquinas on euthanasia

Answer 13

• all believe there is something special about humans, our intellectual ability. Eg. Stephen Hawking - continued to live an intellectual, full human life of perhaps “higher pleasures”.
• issues of elitism (value of life, studying isn’t fulfilling for everyone)

Question 14

connection between Bentham, Singer, and Aristotle on euthanasia

Answer 14

• Bentham’s focus on hedonism would argue that a life of more pain than pleasure is unfair to force someone to go through
• Aristotle would argue that if we have reached the highest point we can and are then diagnosed with something that is only going to decrease our abilities to learn and grow, we should not be forced to become something less than ourselves.

Question 15

Promethius

Answer 15

a titan who defies the God to give humans fire. He is then bound and subjected to endless suffering. ‘It were better to die once and for all than to drag out my lingering days in anguish.’ [Aeschylus]

Question 16

Peter Singer’s view on euthanasia

Answer 16

• babies who survived with spina bifida would need many painful operations so some were left untreated, meaning that they would die
• Singer believed this was ethical but also went further to say that it would be more humane for the children to be euthanised if they were going to be left untreated anyway

Question 17

assessment of Singer’s views on euthanising children with Spina Bifida

Answer 17

• on a surface level look at the consequences - it is suffer or not suffer
• however he is arguably overly-interested in consequences rather than other elements EG. the impact on parents: they are now complicit in the death of their children
• “it would be better if they did not live” could have negative consequences, producing stigma for people living with spina bifida and those with disabilities as a whole
• views a life of suffering as less valuable - more likely to experience pain and suffering
  > if we start to judge lives by how enjoyable there are, this places disabled people (not just those with spina bifida) at the bottom of the scale, and we start to say to living people that it would be better for them to not live

Question 18

What might Plato and Aristotle argue about euthanasia?

Answer 18

Plato might argue that if a person is changed by their disease, they are less them and are further from the Form of them than prior to the disease.
Aristotle we all have a potential and actual self - we are who we are but there is potential for us to change. So if we develop a condition and it changes us, that is the actual us and our “soul” would change too.

Question 19

should people have autonomy over their lives?

Answer 19

• informed consent.
• dangerous to say that somebody is never able to make decisions about their lives because of their illness, whatever illness that may be.
• Dr Death

Question 20

Dr Death

Answer 20

Dr Kevorkian - “Doctor Death” - argued that a patient should have full bodily autonomy. They must be rational and demonstrate that they can make those decisions. He also believes that the medical professional has to make a judgement whether the decision to end life is justified.

Question 21

problems with Dr Kevorkian’s argument

Answer 21

• If the doctor has to make a judgement then the doctor has the ultimate choice since they can say yes or no. Arguably, then, he doesn’t believe in personal autonomy.
• a sort of golden mean between people who have “no justification” to want to die but are rational and people who have a “good reason” but are not able to rationally ask for it.
• His criteria are then discriminatory, how can you argue for autonomy but then refuse autonomy to a vast number of people?

Question 22

problems with radical autonomy

Answer 22

• perhaps not safe enough
• it seems dangerous for anyone to be able to die whenever they ask for it
• we don’t have radical autonomy in any other area of our life: if you want to be part of society, you have to play by a certain set of rules. Why suddenly, when we talk about death, can we have complete autonomy?
• Perhaps Dr Kevorkian’s view is a safe middle ground.