Euthanasia

1
Euthanasia

• A gentle, easy death.

2
Death

• Its not death people fear its dying.
• Describe what, for you, would be a good death.
• Vote should euthanasia be made legal in the UK?

3
Tasks

• Define euthanasia
• Define related key terms / concepts
• What is EXIT? What are its aims?
• What is Dignitas? Explain why its activities
  are legal.
• List the non religious arguments for euthanasia
• List the non religious arguments against
  euthanasia

4
Define the following terms concepts

• Voluntary euthanasia
• Involuntary euthanasia
• Assisted suicide
• Active euthanasia
• Passive euthanasia
• Living wills

• Concept of double effect
• Striving to keep alive
• Quality of life
• Loss of human dignity
• The right to die

5
Useful terms

• Voluntary euthanasia ending the life of a
  patient at their request.
• Involuntary euthanasia ending the life of a
  patient who is not able to make the decision for
  themselves.
• Assisted suicide Providing the means by which a
  patient can terminate their life themselves.

6
Useful terms cont

• Active euthanasia taking active steps to end
  the life of a patient. Eg. by giving a lethal
  injection.
• Passive euthanasia withdrawing medical
  treatment or nourishment to hasten the death of a
  patient
• Living wills ( advance directives) written
  instructions to doctors/carers about future
  treatment / no treatment according to
  circumstances

7
Key Concepts

• The doctrine of double effect
• Striving to keep alive
• Quality of life
• The sanctity of life
• Loss of human dignity
• The right to die

8
Concepts

• Doctrine of double effect taking one action to
  achieve one effect knowing it will produce
  another for which I can not be blamed. Eg.
  giving a high dose of pain relieving drugs
  knowing the dose is sufficient to shorten a dying
  persons life.
• Striving to keep alive idea that doctors must
  do everything possible to keep a patient alive,
  even if they are dying.

9
Concepts cont

• Quality of life people want to die when they
  feel they have no quality of life and feel life
  is no longer worth living
• Loss of human dignity if a person has no
  dignity ( no control over bodily functions is
  totally dependent on carers )
• Right to die we have the right to life but not
  a right to die to choose when to end our lives.
  Law only allows suicide.

10
Concepts cont

• The sanctity of life belief that life is
  sanctified made holy and of special value
  because it is given by God and only God should be
  able to take it away.

11
EXIT

• A voluntary euthanasia society campaigns for
  euthanasia to be made legal in UK.
• Believes in the right to choose.
• Believes in dying with dignity.
• Believes in protecting doctors as well as patients

12
Dignitas

• Swiss organisation
• Slogan Live with dignity, die with dignity
• Non profit making.
• Not acting out of self interest therefore legal
  to assist a persons suicide.

13
Arguments For Euthanasia To be Made Legal

• Developments in medicine now keep people alive
  but they have no quality of life.
• Keeping people alive on life support machines is
  not cost effective.
• Doctors and relatives already agree to switch off
  life support machines if theres no chance of
  recovery euthanasia by the back door.

14
Arguments for cont

• Judges have allowed treatment to stop. Eg.
  Parents of Tony Bland, a Hillsborough disaster
  victim, won right to stop feeding him after he
  had been in a coma for years.
• Belief that it is a basic right to choose when
  our lives should end. We have right to commit
  suicide why not right to ask for assisted suicide?

15
Arguments against Euthanasia being made legal

• Elderly and sick fear being a burden on family
  and may feel they should end their lives
• Unscrupulous relatives might request euthanasia
  for rich people in order to gain from their wills
• A cure might be found for the sufferers disease

16
Arguments against Euthanasia being made legal
cont

• Doctors should be working to save lives not
  ending them
• Doctors make mistakes. Eg. people described as
  terminal do not die
• People might not be in their right mind when they
  request euthanasia

17
Evaluation Question

• No religious person can ever be in favour of
  euthanasia.
• Do you agree? Give reasons for your opinion
  showing you have considered another point of
  view. In your answer you should refer to at least
  one religion. (4 marks)

18
Evaluation Question

• Euthanasia should be made legal in the UK.
• Do you agree? Give reasons for your opinion
  showing you have considered another point of
  view. In your answer you should refer to at least
  one religion. (4 marks)