Euthanasia and Suicide: Ethical Perspectives

Suicide

• Generally considered morally wrong, based on natural law and religious arguments.
• Natural Law: Man's natural disposition is self-preservation.
• Theological Argument: "Thou shalt not kill" (6th Commandment). God gave life and intends it to be preserved.

Euthanasia (Mercy Killing)

• Can be active or passive, depending on the method used.
• Can be voluntary, involuntary, or non-voluntary, depending on the patient's consent.

Euthanasia: Medical-Legal Argument

• Contradicts the role of physicians.
• Initiating termination of life goes against the fundamental moral and professional commitment of a physician – to care for and protect patients' lives.

Euthanasia: Theological Argument

• Euthanasia is considered administered killing.
• God does not allow killing.
• God gave life, only God can take it away.
• Euthanasia devalues God's gift of life and the dignity of human life.

Euthanasia: Psychological Argument

• A dying person may feel pressured to choose euthanasia due to guilt associated with feeling like a burden to their family and medical personnel.
• Euthanasia may seem like the only way out of this perceived burden.

Abortion

• The act of intentionally terminating the life of a fetus for the sake of the woman carrying it.
• Some justifications for abortion include the argument that the child will not have a bright future due to biological defects.

Ethics of Killing

• Killing is inherently wrong because it promotes premature death.
• Killing deprives individuals of their future.

Medical Definition of Death

• Irreversible coma (brain dead) is the accepted medical criterion for death.
• Shift from cardio-pulmonary to neurological criterion of death.
• A patient may be breathing and have a heartbeat through medical machines, but still be brain dead, thus considered deceased.

Importance of Clear Legal-Medical Definition

• Provides clarity for medical and legal practitioners.
• Prevents criminal and civil liability, particularly related to:
  • Prematurely declaring someone dead to harvest organs.
  • Refusing to remove life support from a brain-dead patient.

Death in Religion

• Often seen as something beyond a biological/medical event.
• Belief in an afterlife changes the perception of death as a transition.

Existential Definition of Death

• Transition from being to non-being.
• "To be" = to have possibilities. "Not to be" = loss of all possibilities.
• While alive, we are temporal beings with possibilities.

Existentialism

• "Existence precedes essence." This means:
  • The focus isn't placed on the afterlife.
  • There is an increased emphasis on human limitations (temporality, finitude).
  • Anxiety is a major concern for human beings.
• We become anxious about the possibility of non-existence.
• We also become aware of our freedom to choose who we are.

Existentialism and Death

• We recognize the importance and value of life upon realizing death is a possibility.
• Anxiety is caused by death because it has no object, it is anchored in the unknown.
• Two ways of dealing with this existential anxiety: face it, or run away from it.

Otherworld

• Nietzsche criticizes the belief in an afterlife, arguing it detracts from focusing on concrete, real-life matters.
• Any form of afterlife is fiction and a distraction from human affairs.
• Kierkegaard (considered the Father of existentialism) states that the afterlife is a concern of faith, not reason.

Anxiety

• Many existentialist thinkers consider death as the root of anxiety.
• Tillich: Anxiety is "the existential awareness of non-being." This means that awareness of non-being as part of our own being is what causes anxiety.

Meaning of Life in Death

• Recognizing death as a possibility helps us realize the value of our lives.
• Death reminds us to live, to cherish what we have, and to value what we are.

Explore the complex ethical arguments surrounding euthanasia and suicide, rooted in natural law, theological, and psychological perspectives. This quiz challenges your understanding of moral principles and the role of physicians in end-of-life care.