Euthanasia summary
!
EUTHANASIA!
(Contemporary debates of applied ethics)!
!
Summary of “In Defense of Voluntary Active Euthanasia and!
Assisted Suicide” by Michael Tooley and!
“A Case Against Euthanasia” by Daniel Callahan!
!
Before I start summarising the two articles, I would like to put on the top of this work the most common description of the term “euthanasia”. So Euthanasia is: “the painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease or in an irreversible coma. Origin: early 17th cent.
(in the sense ‘easy death’): from Greek, from eu ‘well’ + thanatos ‘death’.”1 The topic of euthanasia is one that is shrouded with much ethical debate and ambiguity. In the beginning of his work,
Michael Tooley clearly describes what is his main goal, i.e. to defend the claims that first: neither voluntary active euthanasia nor assisting someone to commit suicide is in any way morally wrong; secondly, there should be no laws prohibiting such actions, in the relevant cases. After that it is really important to make the distinction of the tree considered types of euthanasia, which are: voluntary, non-voluntary and involuntary euthanasia. Voluntary euthanasia refers to euthanasia performed at the request of the patient. Involuntary euthanasia is the term used to describe the situation where euthanasia is performed when the patient does not request it, with the intent of relieving their suffering – which, sometimes can be considered as a murder. Non-voluntary euthanasia relates to a situation where euthanasia is performed when the patient is incapable of making a decision.
After that we can see the important dichotomy of “active” and “passive” cases of euthanasia. Active euthanasia refers to the deliberate act, usually through the intentional administration of drugs, to end a terminally ill patient’s life. On the other hand, supporters of euthanasia use “passive euthanasia” to describe the deliberate withdrawal of life-prolonging medical treatment resulting in the
EUTHANASIA!
(Contemporary debates of applied ethics)!
!
Summary of “In Defense of Voluntary Active Euthanasia and!
Assisted Suicide” by Michael Tooley and!
“A Case Against Euthanasia” by Daniel Callahan!
!
Before I start summarising the two articles, I would like to put on the top of this work the most common description of the term “euthanasia”. So Euthanasia is: “the painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease or in an irreversible coma. Origin: early 17th cent.
(in the sense ‘easy death’): from Greek, from eu ‘well’ + thanatos ‘death’.”1 The topic of euthanasia is one that is shrouded with much ethical debate and ambiguity. In the beginning of his work,
Michael Tooley clearly describes what is his main goal, i.e. to defend the claims that first: neither voluntary active euthanasia nor assisting someone to commit suicide is in any way morally wrong; secondly, there should be no laws prohibiting such actions, in the relevant cases. After that it is really important to make the distinction of the tree considered types of euthanasia, which are: voluntary, non-voluntary and involuntary euthanasia. Voluntary euthanasia refers to euthanasia performed at the request of the patient. Involuntary euthanasia is the term used to describe the situation where euthanasia is performed when the patient does not request it, with the intent of relieving their suffering – which, sometimes can be considered as a murder. Non-voluntary euthanasia relates to a situation where euthanasia is performed when the patient is incapable of making a decision.
After that we can see the important dichotomy of “active” and “passive” cases of euthanasia. Active euthanasia refers to the deliberate act, usually through the intentional administration of drugs, to end a terminally ill patient’s life. On the other hand, supporters of euthanasia use “passive euthanasia” to describe the deliberate withdrawal of life-prolonging medical treatment resulting in the