Euthanasia
description
Transcript of Euthanasia
Euthanasia
“Gentle or easy death”
Physician- assisted suicide
Your life is ended by your choice
Or by people acting on your behalf with your interests at heart
History
• In past people died quite quickly and in pain
• Serious injuries, diseases had no cures, no medicines
• Now often can be cured, so life expectancy is greatly raised
• Doctors pledge to all that is necessary to help suffering patient
Critical questions
• Do we have the right to life? • Basic human right and moral value• Usually upheld by people and generally
protected by laws of the country
• Or
• The right to die? • Should doctors be allowed to help people who
no longer wish to live?
However – the dilemma
Need to preserve live
Versus
Help someone who is suffering
• Can the doctor do any more to preserve life?
• What should he do if there is little or no hope of recovery?
Hippocrates
• Born 460 BC in Kos, Greece• Believed that illness had physical causes and
rational explanation – not by evil spirits etc• Believed body should be treated as a whole and
not just parts• Believed in natural healing processes such as
fresh air, good diet cleanliness• Thoughts feelings etc come from brain and not
heart
Hippocratic Oath
• “I will use treatment to help the sick according to my ability and judgement, but never with a view to injury or harm. Neither will I administer a poison to anybody when asked to do so, nor will I suggest such a course… But I will keep pure and holy both my life and art.” (The Hippocratic Oath)
Sanctity of life
• Life is valuable as long as you are alive
• Quality is not important
• Life is sacred and should always be preserved as long as possible by whatever means possible.
• No one has the right to make judgements about the quality of life and so end it
Tasks
1. Write down the Hippocratic Oath.
2. Explain why the Hippocratic Oath creates a problem in relation to euthanasia.