Transcript Abortion and euthanasia

 To
know and understand the overview of the
course
 To know and understand some of the facts
about abortion.
KEY WORDS
KEY QUESTION
ABORTION
PERSONHOOD
TERMINATION
WHAT IS A
PERSON?

Abortion means the deliberate ending of life
after the fertilisation of the human ovum and
before birth.

Today abortion is common for a number of
reasons;

Sex is seen as being more for pleasure than
procreation

Women have a greater social and legal status

Low child mortality has reduced the need for
so many children

Foetal abnormalities can be detected.
 Why
do you think some women may
decide to have an abortion?

Abortion became legal under The Abortion Act 1967.

Abortions can only be carried out in a hospital, or in a
specialised licensed clinic. Pregnancies could be
terminated up until 28 weeks.

In 1990, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act
introduced controls over new techniques which had
been developed to help infertile couples and to
monitor experiments on embryos. Despite attempts
to use this law to restrict abortion rights, the 1990
Act lowered the legal time limit from 28 to 24 weeks.

In 2008 a motion failed to changed the law from 24
weeks to 22 or 20 weeks.

In Northern Ireland, abortion is still illegal.
 Abortion
in Malaysia is legal if
 the woman's life is in danger
 the woman's physical health is in danger
 the woman's mental health is in danger
 The woman must consent to an abortion, and
she must have a medical professional's
authorisation.
 The legal period within which an abortion
can take place is 120 days (about 17 weeks).
 UK


– 24 weeks
An foetus is viable at 24 weeks
This means it is possible for the foetus survive
unaided outside the womb after 24 weeks.
The Qur’an doesn’t explicitly condemn abortion.
 However, it does condemn murder.
 This has led to disagreement amongst Muslims
regarding abortion laws and whether or not it
should be condemned.
 Laws differ from one Islamic country to another.
 In Malaysia the law is up to 120 days based on
the belief that ‘ensoulment’ occurs at 120 days.
Nb. not all Islamic schools of thought agree on
this.
 As it is taught in the Qur’an that to kill one soul
is equal to killing the whole of humanity.
 This means to kill is intrinsically and objectively
wrong.


In the UK, providing that two doctors confirm that her
need for an abortion fits the legal criteria, a woman
does not need the consent of her own doctor, her
partner or her family to have an abortion.

Women under 16 can have an abortion, without
parental consent in some circumstances.

There are different types of abortion:

Pill (up to 9 weeks). The effect is similar to an early
natural miscarriage.

Vacuum aspiration or suction termination (from 7 to 15
weeks of pregnancy).

Surgical dilation and evacuation (D&E) (from 15 weeks
of pregnancy).
 Abortion
is commonplace in many countries
 With
tens of millions of abortions taking place
each year.
 According
to the department of health data
in 2006 there were over 193,700 abortions in
England and Wales and 198,499 in 2007
 The
majority were conducted under 13 weeks
gestation.
 The
proportion of women having abortions in
England and Wales is increasing.

There are two camps when it comes to abortion:

PRO-LIFE


Pro-life campaigners argue against abortion. They think
that the life of the foetus should come before the choice
of the mother.

http://prolife.org.uk
PRO-CHOICE

Pro-choice campaigners argue for abortion. They think
that the choice of the mother should come before the
life of the foetus.

http://www.prochoice.com
A
key issue that we have to consider is:
 When
does a foetus become a person?
 This
is important because our key
question is
 Does
the definition of human life stop
abortion being murder?
 The
criminal act of murder only
applies to a PERSON. When a foetus
becomes a PERSON its gets all the
legal rights of a human in Britain.
A
person is a being that deserves protection
under the law.
 One
of the issues raised by abortion
surrounds the definition of a person.
 The
point at which a life becomes a human is
the point at which it is wrong to kill it
because it will be protected by the law.
 When
we talk about LIFE or the START OF
LIFE we will be referring to the start of
HUMAN LIFE
 To
know and understand the definitions for
the start of life.
KEY WORD
KEY WORDS
KEY
PHILOSOPHERS
CONCEPTION
POTENTIAL
VIABILITY
GLOVER
THOMPSON
 When
a foetus is given the legal status of a
person is essential to understanding the
debate over abortion.
 This
is because killing a person would be
considered murder.
 If
the foetus is given the status of a person
before birth it means that anybody
terminating a baby after that time would be
guilty of murder.
 The
claim: abortion is murder would be
justified
 There
are lots of different definitions for the
start of life (personhood) here are the main
ideas.
POTENTIALITY
PREEXISTENCE
CONCEPTION
VIABILITY
PRIMITIVE
STREAK
CONSCIOUSNESS
 When
do you think life begins? Why?
 Many
people believe that a foetus should be
given the status of a person because it is a
POTENTIAL person.
 This
is called POTENTIALITY
 Anything
that has POTENTIAL to be a human is
a human.
 What
do you think about this?
 Does
that mean we should include
Sperm and eggs?
 Hindus
and Buddhists believe in
reincarnation.
 Reincarnation
contains the idea of pre-
existence.
 This
is the belief that the soul or existence of
the new life has lived before.
 It
is a returning life and is not a newly
created existence.
 Life
therefore has INTRINSIC worth.

Conception is the point at which the unique
selection of genetic information is present

It is the moment the sperm and the egg have
combined to create a fertilized ovum.

if allowed to continue and be successful in
development it will go on to be a unique human
being.

1869 Pope Pius declared that a foetus is a
human person from the moment of conception.

This has been the basis for Roman Catholic
teaching on abortion that to kill a foetus is to
murder a human person.

The fertilized egg is too different from anything
that we normally recognize as a person to be
called the same thing.

THOMSON- accepts that there is continuous
development in foetal growth but suggests that
there is a point at which it is not a human being.

“There is continuous growth from acorn to oak
true but an acorn is not an oat tree; just as a
fertilized ovum – is not a person.”

GLOVER – to call a foetus a human at the point
of conception stretches the term beyond normal
boundaries.

Others have identified the presence of the
primitive streak on the fourteenth day after
fertilization, as the point at which a unique
human being can be said to exist, albeit in
potential form.

The primitive streak provides the structure
around which embryonic structures organise and
align themselves.

Up until that point it is not clear whether one
individual or more than one individual will form,
and at this point it becomes clear which cells will
go on to form the placenta and which go on to
form the embryo.
 The
‘primitive streak’ is evidence of the
start of the nervous system at 2 weeks. At
this point it is thought that the young
embryo can experience pain and has
primitive sensations.
 14
days is the limit for embryo research.
After this point it cannot be used.
 This
demonstrates that the law is
recognising the change in the foetus at this
point.
 Thomson
and Glover’s observations could
still be made about the foetus at this time.
 THOMSON-
there is a point at which the
foetus is not a human being.
 “There
is continuous growth from acorn to
oak true but an acorn is not an oak tree;
just as a fertilized ovum – is not a person.”
 GLOVER
– to call a foetus a human at the
point of primitive streak stretches the term
beyond normal boundaries. It is completely
unrecognisable.

Consciousness may be suggested as a
definition of personhood.

Consciousness cannot be applied to all living
tissue, as it implies sensory experiences, the
ability to feel pleasure and pain. However,
consciousness would include many animals,
and most would argue that animals are not
persons in the same sense as humans are.

The presence of rationality, and our ability to
develop complex language and make complex
tools, are distinctive features of personhood
 Viability
is the point at which human
personhood should be recognised.
 Viability
means when the foetus can survive
a birth and exist independent of the mother.
 This
used to be referred to as quickening
when the mother first felt the foetus move
although now first-movement feeling and
viability are not connected.
20-24 WEEKS

The age which the foetus can survive outside the
womb is reducing as medical technology
progresses.

The moral judgement is made on the basis of
technical ability rather than anything inherent to
the foetus.

Second there are many people who are
dependent on continual medical assistance such
as dialysis in order to survive. We consider them
to be persons despite their medical conditions.

Also even healthy born human babies would not
survive without adult aid.
 Review
your view – have you changed your
mind?
 Write an explanation of what you think is the
start of life on the slide below and next.

Abortion is the termination of a foetus before it goes
full term.

There are 5 definitions for the start of personhood
these all use different justifications for the potential
of human life.

Pre-existence

Conception

Primitive streak

Consciousness

Viability

Birth
WHAT HAVE
WE LEARNT?
 d)
‘A foetus is not a person.’
Do you agree?
Give reasons for your opinion, showing
that you have considered another point
of view. In your answer, you should refer
to at least one named religion.
(5)
 Worth
5 marks
 You need to show awareness of different
points of view and argue your own opinion in
light of these views.
 Structure:




Some people may argue….. because….
Others may argue…. because….
However, I would disagree because…… (argue
against the above points)
I think that….. because…..
 To
consider whose life is more important the
mother or the foetus.
 To consider the self defence argument as a
justification for abortion.
KEY WORDS
KEY QUESTION
SELF DEFENCE
ECTOPIC
PREGNANCY
DOUBLE EFFECT
WHOSE LIFE IS
MORE
IMPORTANT?
1.
This lesson introduces one of the key issues
in debate over abortion.
2.
It discusses whose life is more important
3.
The mother or the child
4.
This presents one of the arguments for the
justification of abortion.
5.
Main philosophers: Thomson
 What
about when a woman’s life is in
danger?
A
pregnancy and a growing foetus have an
enormous impact on the mother.
 Not
only does it cause physiological and
emotional changes it places the mother’s
body under enormous pressure and has
significant health risks attached.

In the past before developed health care
childbirth was a principal cause of women’s
death and it remains so in less economically
developed countries. LDEC’s

There is a complex question about the
conflicting interests between mother and
child.

At one end of the spectrum are the severe
danger of death examples:
ECTOPIC
PREGNANCY
An ectopic pregnancy will kill both the mother
and the child if left uninterrupted.
A pregnancy
in which the
foetus
develops
outside the
uterus.


There are also increased chances of
pregnancy aggravating existing health
problems.

Mothers with heart complaints or high blood
pressure are under increased risk of serious
problems.
 In
some situations it is hard to determine
whose life is more important:
Mother
child
Judith Jarvis
Thomson
 Thomson
sees abortion as an issue of selfdefence and uses this to justify it in some
cases.
 If
the foetus threatens the health of the
mother abortion is a defensive measure
against unacceptable dangers.
 Thomson
uses the example of a cardiac
condition which should the pregnancy be
allowed to continue would place the mother
in real danger.
1.
How should a decision be made about the
two rights to life; that of the mother or the
baby?
2.
Who should decide which life should be
preserved over and above the other?
3.
While we might kill in self-defence, it is
unclear whether we should kill an innocent
in self defence.
4.
Perhaps the foetus has the right of self
defence against the mother?

One position which takes account of
the threat to the mothers life is that
which argues for a double effect way
of thinking.

It may be that a medical procedure is
necessary to protect the life of the
mother which inadvertently and
indirectly leads to the termination of
the pregnancy.

In this way of thinking the action is
not deliberately to kill but
deliberately to save life.

The death of an innocent is an
unfortunate side-effect.
DOUBLE EFFECT: this is a
doctrine devised to deal with
moral conflicts in natural law
theory.
It says that it is always wrong
to do a bad act intentionally
in order to bring about good
consequences.
It is sometimes permissible
to do a good act while at the
same time knowing that it
will bring about bad
consequences.
In rough terms, this is
sometimes translated as
‘provided your intention is to
follow the rule, you can
“benefit” from any
unintended consequences.
 People
who disagree/agree with abortion
have their view complicated by the problem
raised when a child has a negative effect on
the life of the mother.
 Is
it self defence?
 Can
WHAT HAVE
WE LEARNT?
you use double effect?
 Whose
life is more important, the mother or
the child?
 To
understand the question of rights.
 To understand the feminist view of abortion.
KEY WORDS
KEY
PHILOSOPHERS
OPPRESSION
PATRIARCHY
RIGHTS
WARREN AND
FEMINISM
 Induced
abortion in the UK became a
statutory offense in 1803.
 However
in the 1960’s there was a period
of extensive and rapid social and cultural
change leading to the passing of the
abortion act in 1967.
 The
passing of the act reflected the
‘sexual revolution’ of the 1960’s.
 The
law gave women more rights as
humans. The right to control their own
lives. This had previously not existed.
 Some
have argued that there are other
compelling reasons to permit abortion in all,
or almost all, cases, not just when there is
certain risk to the mother.
 The
feminist position begins from the
historical experience of female suppression
and a patriarchal society, and the role of
religion in that history.
 PATRIARCHAL:
male dominated
 Women
were subordinated within the family
and had their freedom limited by the
constraints of motherhood and the
unreliability of contraception.
 Women's
roles have primarily been defined in
terms of motherhood and it was only towards
the latter end of the 20th century that
women in large numbers began to have equal
legal rights and equal opportunities in
employment.
 MARY
ANNE WARREN believes women should
have the RIGHT to abort unwanted
pregnancies at any time.
 It
should become part of their RIGHT TO
LIFE given to them by the HUMAN RIGHTS
ACT
 If
not undesirable consequences would
follow, such as dangerous illegal ‘backstreet’
abortions and even women self harming.
 Before
the legalisation of abortion women
have paid a terrible price.
 Life
in the family and without the option of
contraception and abortion they are forced
to bear many children at short intervals and
become debilitated and died young
 This
is also a situation that aggravates
poverty and places stress on families and
whole societies.

The world health organisation (WHO) says that
unsafe abortions kill 200,000 women every year.

In Romania during a period of abortions being
illegal there was an increase in birth rate but
also an increase in the mortality rate of women
through backstreet abortions.

Therefore, to be forced to bear a child is to be
forced to undergo a risky process that may lead
to the possibility of giving up work, education
and consequent harm.

Prohibition of abortion thus infringes on a
woman's basic human rights of SELFDETERMINATION and LIBERTY.

What is the most important set of rights?

If the foetus is a person then it has its own right
to life that might be more important that the
mothers
RIGHTS OF LIFE
RIGHT TO LIFE
 SELF
DETERMINATION in this context means
the ability to control your own life.
 Most
people should have the right to control
their own FREEDOM from the infliction of
bodily harm.
 Warren
argues that in most cases killing is
wrong to prohibit abortion on demand would
deny a woman’s basic human rights.
 She
would be forced to suffer the risk of
death – this is wrong.
 If
the foetus is given equal rights then, in
principle, a court could force a woman to go
through with a dangerous birth rather than
abort, because her life would be considered
to be no more valuable than that of the
foetus.
 The
foetus’ life should be subordinate to the
woman’s life, if not, it is another example of
the oppression of women by the patriarchal
society we live in.
 To
know and understand the religious
perspective on abortion.
KEY WORDS
THE SANCTITY OF
LIFE
PASTORALLY
HIPPOCRATIC OATH
KEY QUESTION
 What
is the feminist perspective?
Genesis 4:1
Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she
became pregnant and gave birth to Cain.
She said, "With the help of the LORD I
have brought forth a man.
Isaiah 44:24
The Lord, who has taken up your cause,
and who gave you life in your mother's
body, says, I am the Lord who makes all
things; stretching out the heavens by
myself, and giving the earth its limits;
who was with me?
Jeremiah 1:5
Before you were formed in the body of
your mother I had knowledge of you, and
before your birth I made you holy; I have
given you the work of being a prophet to
the nations
Job 31:15
Did not God make him as well as me? did
he not give us life in our mothers' bodies?
Isaiah 48:1,5
Give ear to this, O family of Jacob, you
who are named by the name of Israel, and
have come out of the body of Judah; who
take oaths by the name of the Lord, and
make use of the name of the God of
Israel, but not truly and not in good faith.
For this reason I made it clear to you in
the past, before it came I gave you word
of it: for fear that you might say, My god
did these things, and my pictured and
metal images made them come about.
Matthew 1:18
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was in this
way: when his mother Mary was going to
be married to Joseph, before they came
together the discovery was made that she
was with child by the Holy Spirit.
 The
religious perspective revolves around the
sanctity of life. This view states that all life
is created by God and therefore, only God
has the right to take life.
 Life
is therefore SACRED.
 To
say that life is sacred implies reverence
and respect.
 This
is a core belief of Christianity. For that
reason murder is wrong.
 TEN
COMMANDMENTS
 Christianity
generally prohibits abortion due
to the sanctity of life.
 However,
despite the ‘sanctity of life’ there
are some justifications for killing in the
Bible; such as self-defence and war.
 Death
is ok as long as it is to prevent
undesirable consequences such as the deaths
of innocents.
 Acceptance
of these seems to be at odds
with an attitude against abortion based on
the idea of the sanctity of life.
 As
we said ‘life as sacred’ for Christianity but
there are differences when applying this to
abortion.
 Viewpoints
vary:
1.
Some are completed opposed in all
circumstances with virtually no exceptions.
2.
Others opposed in principles but pastorally
sensitive.
3.
Supportive of abortion in some specified cases
4.
Believe the mother some have complete choice.
Conservative
religious
traditions are
deontological or
absolutist and
find statements
to support a
complete ban on
abortion.
Other are more
proportional and are
willing to allow it in
certain situations.
Some give more authority to
the individual religious
leaders are advisory on
moral issues but not binding
on all believers.

There is always a difference between what
the religious teaching is and what a believer
actually does.

Some Churches like Catholics expect all
believers to follow their teachings. Some
protestant Churches let followers follow their
own conscience.

When you evaluate religious views you should
show understanding of the diversity within
religions and difference between official
teaching and actual actions!
 Historically
 It
abortion is sinful
is prohibited in many Christian writings
 Christian
writers have disputed:

the point at which the soul infused with the
body (ensoulment)

If early abortions are as bad as late ones
 But
essentially it has always been viewed as
murder.
 Catholic
– Abortion is intrinsically evil
 Abortion
goes against the natural law
and the word of God and there are no
exceptions or scenarios that make it
right.

the foetus deserves the same status
as a born human being.
 Having
an abortion leaves you open to
excommunication
EXCOMUNICATION
The
act
or
banishing a member
of a church from
the communion of
believers and the
privileges of the
Church;
cutting
someone off from
the
religious
community.
ENSOULMENT
The
process
in
Christian belief, by
which a body is
endowed with a
soul.

Abortion can lead to a serious karmic setback for
the individual as it can hinder the soul’s
progress.

Ahimsa – total nonviolence. It is wrong to kill.

Many Hindus believe the soul is present at the
moment of conception.

However, due to the cultural preference for
sons, abortion of girls does happen in Hindu
societies.
 Abortion
is haram
 However, it may be permitted if the life of
the mother is in serious danger as this would
be the lesser of two evils
 Some may allow abortion if the foetus is
found to have a serious defect which will be
untreatable and will cause serious suffering
to the child. However, the foetus must be
less than 120 days old.
 Some Muslims are more liberal but the
general consensus is that abortion is not
permissible after 120 days.
 Life
starts at conception.
 It is wrong to kill.
 The foetus and mother will suffer bad karma.
 The decision to abort is up to the individual.
They must take a mindful approach,
carefully weighing up the issues involved and
coming to an informed decision.
 It is up to the individual to choose the most
ethical path, be it to save the life of the
mother or prevent future suffering of mother
or child.
 Lots
of different Christian views on abortion.
 Official teaching is not always represented in
the action of the believer.
 Centred around the sanctity of life principle.
BRANCH OF CHURCH
AGAINST
FOR
CATHOLIC CHURCH
SANCTITY OF LIFE
USE DOUBLE EFFECT
ORTHODOX AND
EVANGELICAL
SANCTITY OF LIFE
DO NO MURDER
GOD AUTHOR OF LIFE
C of E
SANCTITY OF LIFE
USE OWN CONSCIENCE
LIBERAL
SANCTITY OF LIFE
IF MOTHERS LIFE IS
THREATENED
 (b)
Choose one religion. Outline its
teachings about the sanctity of life.
(5)
 Nb
you are being asked to outline.
You therefore are not required to
explain reasons for these teachings or
discuss them in any way. You simply
state what the teachings are.
 Explain
why some people believe it is the
woman’s choice to have an abortion.
(8)
 You
should refer to pro-choice, religious
teachings and feminism.
 To
know and understand the key terms for
euthanasia
 To know and understand what euthanasia is
KEY WORDS
Active
euthanasia
passive
euthanasia
Living will
KEY
PHILOSOPHERS
R. H. Crook
1.
Is there any moral justification for taking your
own life?
2.
Is it wrong to assist in killing those who don’t
want to live?
3.
Is there a difference between withdrawing lifesustaining treatment and delivering a lethal
injection?
4.
Should comatose patients who have no hope of
recovery be kept alive for as long as
technology permits?
5.
Is human dignity better defined or sustained by
having freedom to choose to end life or not
having that freedom?

Euthanasia is the termination of a
person’s life, either with their consent
or without, as a way of alleviating pain
or removing unnecessary suffering.

The word comes from two Greek words

EU meaning good

And THANOS meaning death.

It literally translates as good death
Annie Lindsell – suffering with Motor
Neurone disease in December 1997 was
worried she would die in pain. She
requested the High Court to allow a
doctor to administer her with
diamorphine.
Tony Bland – victim of the Hilsbourgh
disaster was allowed to die by the courts
through withdrawal of food.
Dianne Pretty – wanted the courts to allow
her husband to help her commit suicide
because she feared the choking and
asphyxia often caused by her disease. This
went to the ECHR and was declined
because the right to die was not part of
her right to life.
 The
job of a doctor is to heal.
 The
hippocratic oath that a doctor must take
entails the requirement that they do not
willing harm another person.
 But
many people argue a doctors job is to
preserve the quality of a persons life by
healing.
 If
this is the case surely if a person feels they
have no quality of life a doctor should
preserve that by helping them to die?
I
will not prescribe a
deadly drug to please
someone, nor give
advice that may
cause his death.’
Hippocrates
 Some
doctors maintain that killing a patient
should not fit in with what a doctor should
do.
A
doctor should heal, prevent diseases and
assist people in living a healthy life.
 Some
doctors today feel that the need to
preserve the patient’s quality of life extends
to a duty to help that patient end his or her
life in the way that he or she sees fit.
 What
do you think?
 In
thinking about what sort of death a person
should have, one can say that a peaceful
death is one in which pain and suffering are
minimised, where the patient is never
neglected and whose needs are always taken
account of.
 However,
in all countries, the peaceful death
is not thought in legal terms to include
euthanasia.
Euthanasia: is
inducing a painless
death, by agreement
and with compassion,
to ease suffering.
From the Greek
meaning ‘Good
Death’.
Involuntary
Euthanasia:
helping a person
to die when they
are unable to
request this for
themselves.
Living Will: a document
that specifies an
individual’s wishes
regarding care and
treatment if he or she
becomes incapacitated,
such as limiting lifesupport that would only
prolong life
Active (direct)
Euthanasia:
carrying out some
action to help
someone to die.
Voluntary
euthanasia:
helping a person
who wishes to die
to do so.
Passive
euthanasia: not
carrying out the
actions which
would prolong life.
 ACTIVE
/ DIRECT EUTHANASIA: anything that
involves the administering of a treatment or
drug in order to shorten or end a persons life
is illegal. This is true even if they have given
their consent to the death.
 PASSIVE/
INDIRECT EUTHANASIA:
withdrawing treatment from a person in
order to bring about their death is legal and
widely practised in Britain.
 Murder,
is defined as the unlawful killing of
another human being with intent (or malice
aforethought).
 To murder somebody you must intend to kill
them.
 Euthanasia is the intentional killing of a
person.
 It is clearly murder under the current
definition.
 In order to legalise it we would have to
define euthanasia so that it was considered
legal killing, along with war.

Euthanasia is a criminal offence in virtually all
countries, and it is strongly opposed by most
governments and religious organisations.

In Holland, about a thousand assisted deaths
take place each year, and organisations such as
the Voluntary Euthanasia Society (VES) campaign
for a similar practice to be available in the UK.

It is worth noting that the VES, along with most
other pro-euthanasia groups, would never
support ending someone’s life against that
person’s will.
 there
are active and passive dimensions to the
ethical debate.
 If
someone is terminally ill they may ask you
not to intervene medically to help them and
allow them to die sooner
 (passive
voluntary euthanasia)
 or
you may wish to do so after they have lost
consciousness and basic brain functions
 (passive
involuntary euthanasia)
 The
person may ask you to give them medicines
which will bring about their death
 (active
voluntary euthanasia)
 or
you may wish to do so once they have lost
consciousness and basic brain functions
 (active
involuntary euthanasia)
The debate on euthanasia covers:
1. What is the responsibility of a doctor?
2. To kill or to preserve life?
3. Does a doctors responsibility of preservation of
life extend to preserving quality of life?
4. Should a person have a right to selfdetermination and autonomy?
5. Is part of the ‘right to life’ the ‘right to die’?
6. Is there a similar ethical concern over
involuntary euthanasia?
7. What is the religious view on euthanasia?

 To
know and understand the arguments for
voluntary euthanasia.
KEY WORDS
KEY PHILOSOPHERS
MERCIFUL
AUTONOMY
Gregory E. Pence
Thomas More
JS. Mill
PALLIATIVE CARE
1.
Euthanasia is not murder
2.
Euthanasia is merciful
3.
Euthanasia gives people autonomy
4.
Jack Kevorkian
5.
Euthanasia goes on anyway
 There
may be situations where people are in
terrible pain or have such a profound sense
of indignity because of their mental
deterioration that they wish while they still
have the chance to express a choice, to bring
about death more quickly.
 There
are several arguments in favour of
legal voluntary euthanasia.
 In
his article “why physicians should aid the
dying” Gregory E. Pence argues that killing
humans who don't want to live is not wrong.
 It
isn't wrong to help the dying to die,
because they are actually dying.
 You
are simply speeding up the process. This
is therefore, not murder.

Voluntary euthanasia shows mercy for
those suffering with intolerable pain
from an incurable disease.

The English humanist Thomas More
argued in his famous 1516 book Utopia
that when a patient suffers a ‘torturing
and lingering pain, so that there is no
hope, either of recovery or ease, (they
may) choose rather to die, since they
cannot live but in much misery’.

Voluntary euthanasia is a merciful
opportunity to end needless suffering –
one which we offer to animals and should
offer to humans as well.
 Mill
argues that if it doesn’t affect
someone else’s, individuals should
have full autonomy. (complete
freedom)
 We
expect to have control over our
bodies in matters of life, and it should
be the same in matters of death.
 The
VES (voluntary euthanasia society) argues
that every human being deserves respect and
has the right to choose his or her own destiny,
including how he or she lives and dies.
Kevorkian aka 'Dr Death'
because he photographed the
eyes of dying patients. Later in
his career (starting in 1987) he
advertised his services as a
physician offering 'death
counselling'. When terminally
ill patients learned that he was
helping people to die, more
and more people came to him.
Despite several failed court
cases, Kevorkian helped over
130 people to die.
Kevorkian believed that helping
people was not enough, and
actually killed Thomas Youk,
filmed himself doing so and
recieving consent by the man.
He was sentenced to 10-25
years in prison.
 In
1994 the British Medical Journal published
a survey that showed some doctors already
help patients to die.
 Doctors
can legally give pain relieving
treatment in doses that will bring about
people’s deaths more quickly and, in certain
circumstances, such as in the case of the
braindead or comatose, they may also
withdraw or withhold treatment even though
a person will die if they do so.
 What
is this type of euthanasia called?
 They
cannot however, help someone to die at
that person's request.
 The
VES holds that it would be more honest
and much safer if voluntary euthanasia was
legal and regulated.
 They
argue that there is no ethical
difference between withdrawing treatment
and delivery a lethal injection.
 Is
this true?

Human beings should be able to maintain their
dignity up until the ends of their lives.

This is not simply a matter of pain, but of selfrespect.

If someone’s standard of living is such that they
no longer want to live, then they should be able
to end their life and, if necessary, be assisted in
doing so.

What is more, the quality of life worth living is
one that only they can define.

Having control over their life is a way of
enhancing their human dignity.
1.
Euthanasia is not murder
2.
Euthanasia is merciful
3.
Euthanasia gives people autonomy
4.
Jack Kevorkian
5.
Euthanasia goes on anyway
 To
know and understand the arguments
against voluntary euthanasia.
KEY WORDS
Motive
Mistake
Informed consent
KEY
PHILOSOPHERS
Glover
Helga Kuhse
(c) Explain why some people believe
a person has the right to a good
death.
(8)

Voluntary euthanasia or
assisted euthanasia is when
a person asks to be helped
to die.

Should we have the ability
to control our own destinies,
by being offered assistance
to take our own lives when
we judge that the quality of
our lives has deteriorated to
the point at which they are
no longer worth living?
 When
a person asks for death, can we be
sure that the person isn't crying out in
despair, rather than making a definitive
decision?
 In desperate moments, someone may feel
that they want their life to end – that the
pain is too great and life too agonising – but
perhaps those moments will pass and they
will be glad that no-one acted on their pleas.
Can doctors be sure that they know and
understand all the facts?
 Is it possible that they may fear a future which
will not be realised?
 Any euthanasia process would have to be able to
establish, beyond any doubt, the true intentions
of the patient who is requesting euthanasia and
that the patient is fully aware of the situation.
 The risk of misinformation or a failure to
comprehend the situation leaves the patient
vulnerable to a decision that he or she might not
truly want to make.

 You
can never be 100% sure of
a persons motives
 They may be depressed or
struggling and may not really
be able to give the informed
consent necessary to make the
difficult decision about the end
of their life.

Suppose that someone chooses death because
they have been diagnosed with a fatal,
incurable and painful illness.

Then after the person has died, it becomes
apparent the diagnosis, but can there always
be medical certainty about what the conditions
will entail and how long it will take to develop?

There is an area of doubt here that could lead
to terrible mistakes.

Refusing to allow voluntary euthanasia
safeguards us against this.
Is this fair?
Should we
not just
safeguard
against
mistakes?
 Would
elderly relatives who think
they are burdens to their families
ask for voluntary euthanasia out
of a sense of duty to the family?
 Jonathan
Glover 1977 notes that
people who feel they are burdens
on their families sometimes
commit suicide.
 On
the other hand, could they be
pressured into asking for assisted
death by scheming relatives?
GLOVER
Glover’s anti-euthanasia
stance concentrates on
the value of life. Glover
uses the example in
which there are two
planets; on one a single
vegetable grows and on
the other there is no
sign of life and no form
of life can ever be
achieved. We must
destroy one planet.
Those who chose to save
the planet with the
vegetable recognise that
life has intrinsic value.
 The
conviction of Harold
Shipman for multiple murders –
where he, as a GP, murdered
dozens of elderly patients over a
period of many years – highlights
the power of doctors, especially
over the elderly.
A
voluntary euthanasia system
could allow such people even
more scope for murder, by
manipulating patients and
documentation.
Kevorkian aka 'Dr Death'
because he photographed the
eyes of dying patients. Later in
his career (starting in 1987) he
advertised his services as a
physician offering 'death
counselling'. When terminally
ill patients learned that he was
helping people to die, more
and more people came to him.
Despite several failed court
cases, Kevorkian helped over
130 people to die.
Kevorkian believed that helping
people was not enough, and
actually killed Thomas Youk,
filmed himself doing so and
recieving consent by the man.
He was sentenced to 10-25
years in prison.
 What
cultural effect might
voluntary euthanasia have on
society?
 Might
it lead to other forms of
euthanasia being supported –
ultimately concluding with the
kinds of involuntary euthanasia
carried out by the Nazis on the
sick, the elderly and the
disabled?
1.
How can you be sure of a persons motives?
2.
What about mistakes?
3.
How can you prevent abuse of the system?
4.
Impact on the community?
 To
know the issues of involuntary euthanasia.
KEY WORDS
Comatose
Persistent
vegetative state
(PVS)
KEY PEOPLE
TONY BLAND

Voluntary euthanasia refers to situations where a
person is able to make wishes known, perhaps at
time or possibly by an advance directive.

However, there are other cases where a patient
cannot let their wishes be known, such as when
they are in a coma.

The withdrawal of treatment (passive) or the
application of certain medicines (active) may
bring about involuntary euthanasia.

Involuntary euthanasia means that it is
compulsory and without the consent of the
patient.

Tony bland was the victim of the 1989
Hillsborough disaster in which many
football fans were crushed to death.

He survived but was left in a persistent
vegetative state (PVS) in which it was
thought he would never recover.

In this state the body can breathe and
main organs function properly.

In Bland’s case he could open his eyes
but did not respond to anything around
him.

He could not feed but could digest food
so needed to have food and water
provided through a feeding tube.

There was no cure for Tony’s condition
but he was not dying.

The question, which eventually ended up
in court, was whether or not it was right
to remove artificial feeding and lead to
death through starvation and
dehydration.

This seems like a painful and cruel way if
he was able to sense the pain although it
was thought he would not.

The 2005 mental capacity Act makes it clear that
assisted food and fluids is a medical treatment
which can be withdrawn.

This seems to take a step towards active
involuntary euthanasia or even non-voluntary
euthanasia.

The ethical challenge here is that there are
instances where doctors are convinced that a
person will never wake up from a coma, or has
no capacity for higher life function, and yet can
be sustained indefinitely.

Does it show more or less respect for the value
of the human person to withdraw life-sustaining
measures?
 Is
there a moral difference between
voluntary and involuntary euthanasia?
 Analogy:
is there a moral difference
between pushing someone in a lake or
watching someone drown and not helping
them?
 To
know the Catholic perspectives on
euthanasia.
KEY WORDS
KEY QUESTIONS
SUFFERING
CHOICE
FREEDOM
IS SUFFERING
CHARACTER
BUILDING?
1.
The quality of life is to be valued over
biological life
2.
Death is a friend to someone with a
debilitating illness.
3.
All medical interventions place human will
against nature and extraordinary means.
4.
Special equipment and unnecessary surgery
are not morally required for a person who
is terminally ill.

There are similarities between the
religious approaches to euthanasia
and abortion.

Many religious perspectives work from
interpretation of sources and applying
them to the issues at stake.

The most important thing to
remember is that there is diversity
both within and between religious
traditions.
 Roger
Crook captures the Christian
perspective on euthanasia by posing the
question of how we care for the dying.

What do we do for the person who is comatose
with no hope of recovery?

How do we care for the terminally ill person
whose remaining days are increasingly,
agonisingly painful?
 The
human being is not simply a biological
entity but a person, in the image of God and
Christ. Death marks the end of personhood in
this life.
1.
Biblical teachings prohibit killing
2.
The sixth commandment “you shall not
murder” (exodus 20:13)
3.
Jesus ministry was about healing. Providing
care for the sick, needy and the weakest
members of society.
4.
Christians have traditionally considering
taking one’s own life to be wrong.

At the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, the Roman
Catholic Church condemned crimes against life such as;

Murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia, or wilful suicide

“life is sacred and a gift from God”

To take a life opposes God’s love for that person, and
rejects the duty of a person to live life according to
God’s plan.
 In
the same declaration they
made it clear that it was
wrong to ask someone for an
assisted death.
 And
that an individual cannot
consent to such as death: ‘For
it is a question of the violation
of the divine law, an offence
against the dignity of the
human person, a crime against
life and an attack on
humanity.’
The kind of autonomy
that is argued for by
JS Mill is rejected
here.
We simply don’t have
that freedom,
because we are made
by God for the
purpose of loving
God. God has created
us for a purpose, and
it is our duty to live
and pursue that
purpose.
A
distinct argument is made about
suffering and its role in Christian
theology.
 Jesus
died in pain on the cross, and
human suffering at the end of life
connects us to the suffering that Jesus
felt.
 This
does not mean that Christians
should refuse to take painkillers or
should actively seek pain, but it does
grant suffering the possibility of having
a positive effect on the individual.
 Liberal

protestants
argue that euthanasia can be an act of love as
the quality matters as much as quantity, death is
not the end and can be a friend to those
suffering terribly.
 Conservative

protestants
Argue that while withdrawing treatment could be
an act of kindness when death is inevitable and
life is intolerable, it should only take place in
exceptional cases and cannot include actively
taking life
 Life
is sacred and God-given. Humans cannot
intervene and play God.
 Do not take life, which Allah made sacred,
other than in the course of justice.
Qur'an 17:33
 Destroy not yourselves. Surely Allah is ever
merciful to you.
Qur'an 4:29
 However, many Muslims agree that a patient
should not be kept alive when in a vegetative
state if there is no hope of recovery.
 Voluntary
euthanasia is the result of a
negative state of mind which needs to be
addressed. This can be so by meditation and
medication.
 Some Buddhists argue Euthanasia should be
forbidden as it is killing and so will
negatively alter the karmic balance.
 The taking of one’s own life is permitted in
some cases, e.g. the suicide of monks.
However, monks are believed to have a
different state of mind to other people and
therefore this may only apply to them.







Euthanasia will result in negative karma for the
individual as the body and atman, soul, are being
separated at an unnatural time.
The karma of the doctor will also be damaged.
Hindus believe in ahimsa and are against killing
However, euthanasia to end the suffering of an
individual could be viewed as a morally permissible,
even good, deed.
A form of passive euthanasia is known as prayopavesa
in Hindu law.
this is when an individual has a terminal disease and
makes the decision to not eat food thus slowly dying
from starvation.
This is allowed since the person is dying anyway and
it is a non-violent, natural method.
 The
human person is the image of God.
 Bible
teachings prohibit killing and promote
healing although there are some exceptions in
terms of self-sacrifice for others.
 Catholic
teaching opposes all euthanasia as it
interferes with
1.
2.
3.
4.
God’s plan
The gospel is a gospel for life
Killing is an offense against the dignity of the
human person
Sometimes suffering is for a purpose
(b) Choose one religion. Outline teachings on
euthanasia.
(5)
(c) Explain why some people argue that the
legalisation of euthanasia is dangerous.