Ethics Main Nimz

8/3/2019 Ethics Main Nimz

1/21


2/21

Introduction

Euthanasia (mercy killing)is derived from the Greekword

Euthanasia meaning "good death.eu- (well or good)

thanatos (death)) refers to the practice of ending a life in apainless manner.


3/21

What is Euthanasia?


4/21

yThe act or practice of killing or allowingdeath from natural causes, for reasons ofmercy, i.e., in order to release a person fromincurable disease, intolerable suffering, or

undignified death.yEuthanasia is the deliberate killing of a person

for the benefit of that person.


5/21

Historyy 1995 Australia's Northern Territory approved a

euthanasia bill

y It went into effect in 1996 and was overturned by theAustralian Parliament in 1997.


6/21

y 1998 U.S. state of Oregon legalizes assisted suicide

y 1999 Dr. Jack Kevorkian sentenced to a 10-25 year prisonterm for giving a lethal injection to Thomas Youk whose

death was shown on the "60 Minutes" television program.


7/21

y In November 2000, the Netherlands became the firstcountry to legalize euthanasia.

y2002 Belgium legalizes euthanasia.

.

2008 U.S. state of Washington legalizes assisted suicide

y In the UK, despite a number of test cases in 2003, all formsof euthanasia are illegal and considered as criminal acts.


8/21

Forms ofeuthanasia

yEuthanasia comes in several differentforms, each of which brings a different setof rights and wrongs.

Active and passive euthanasia

yIn active euthanasia a person directly anddeliberately causes the patient's death.

yIn passive euthanasia they don't directlytake the patient's life, they just allow themto die.


9/21

Aeuthanasia device invented by Dr Philip Nitschke that facilitated euthanasiathrough heavy doses of drugs. The laptop screen led the user through a series ofsteps and questions to ensure he or she was fully prepared.


10/21

CASES REPORTED FROM

VARIOUS COUNTRIES ABOUT

MERCY KILLING


11/21


12/21

United States

yMost recently, amid U.S. governmentroadblocks and controversy in the TerriSchiavo case, where a Floridian who was in avegetative state since 1990, had her feeding

tube removed in 2005. Her husband hadwon the right to take her off life support,which he claimed she would want but was

difficult to confirm as she had no living willand the rest of her family claimed otherwise.

y In November 2008, Washington the secondU.S. state to legalize physician-assisted

suicide


13/21


14/21

Religious argumentsy Euthanasia is against the word and will of Gody Euthanasia weakens society's respect for the sanctity of

life

y Suffering may have value

yVoluntary euthanasia is the start of a slippery slopethat leads to involuntary euthanasia and the killing ofpeople who are thought undesirable


15/21

Practical arguments

y Proper palliative care makes euthanasiaunnecessary

y There's no way of properly regulating euthanasia

yAllowing euthanasia will lead to less good care forthe terminally ill


16/21

The ethics of Euthanasia

Euthanasia raises agonising moral questions likethese:

At the heart of the ethical and religious argumentsover euthanasia are the different ideas that people

have of the meaning and value of human existence,and of whether human beings have the right to decideissues of life and death for themselves.

y There are also a number of arguments based onpractical issues.

y Some people think that euthanasia shouldn't beallowed even if it was morally right, because it wouldbe abused and used as a cover for murder.


17/21

Religions and death

y Death is one of the most important things thatreligions deal with.

yAll faiths offer meaning and explanations for deathand dying; all faiths try to find a place for death anddying within human experience.

y For those left behind when someone dies religions

provide rituals to mark death, and ceremonies toremember those who have died.

y Religions provide understanding and comfort for thosewho are facing death.


18/21

Religions and euthanasia

y Most religions disapprove of euthanasia. Some of themabsolutely forbid it. The Roman Catholic church, for

example, is one of the most active organisations inopposing euthanasia.

yVirtually all religions state that those who becomevulnerable through illness or disability deserve special

care and protection, and that proper end of life care isa much better thing than euthanasia.

y Religions are opposed to euthanasia for a number ofreasons.


19/21

Human life is sacred

y human lives are special because God created them

y therefore human life should be protected and

preserved, whatever happensy therefore we shouldn't interfere with God's plans by

shortening human lives


20/21

Human life is special

y human beings are made in God's image

y therefore they have a special value and dignity

y this value doesn't depend on the quality of a particularlife

y taking a life violates that special value and dignity

yeven if it's one's own life

yeven if that life is full of pain and suffering


21/21

Documents

Ethics Main Nimz