Euthanasia is killing in order to relieve suffering. It comes from the greek words for 'good death' (as opposed to a slow and painful death). It is often nicknamed 'mercy-killing'.
Euthanasia is illegal in England as it is considered murder, this has lead many people to go abroad to 'clinics', such as those in Switzerland, where it is legal to provide help for someone to kill themself (assisted suicide). Euthanasia is currently legal in the Netherlands.
Voluntary euthanasia is when the person has requested to die whereas Involuntary is where the person is unable to say and so somebody else has to the make the decision for them.
Some liberals may agree with euthanasia in some cases as it may be the most loving thing to do in certain circumstances, and therefore will follow Jesus' key teaching of love....The technical term for this is known as "Agape" which is selfless love. However more conservative christians such as Catholics believe in the Sanctity Of Human Life.
NB: This is half of a section of the exam, which is equally divided between abortion and euthanasia.
SPECIFICATION:
Euthanasia: active or passive
- Ethical issues involved in legislation about euthanasia;
voluntary and involuntary; hospices and palliative care
- The right of humans to determine when to die
Arguments for and against euthanasia with reference to religious and ethical teachings.
Issues arising:
Can euthanasia ever be said to be 'good'?
Do humans have a right to life?
Comments (1)
Charlie Barton said
at 4:40 pm on May 1, 2009
I changed 'fundamental' to conservative in the last sentence there, because fundamentalist is a term which technically means that one sticks *only* to Biblical teachings, whereas Catholics also stick to the teachings of the Pope and scholars such as Aquinas, as well as the Bible. I also removed S.O.H.L. because I only want you to use it as shorthand in your notes, not in your essay... unless you are repeating the term several times, in which case you only need to write it out the first time, and then put SOHL next to it in brackets. From then on you can use the abbreviation. :)
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