Principles of Euthanasia

1412 WordsNov 25, 20126 Pages
'Examine the view that religious and/or moral principles resolve the major issues in medical ethics' Euthanasia can be classified in relation to whether a patient gives informed consent, it can then be sorted into three types: voluntary, non-volontary and involuntary. One of the arguments regarding euthanasia is the problem of definition. The question of the argument is, where does the killing of a person become acceptable and subsequently where is Euthanasia applied. There is a debate amongst bioethics and medical literature, it aims to conclude as to whether or not non-voluntary (and to a point involuntary) killing of patients can be thought of as euthanasia. In the eyes of some, consent from the person is not regarded as being…show more content…
There are many ways in which this can be contradicted, straight from the words of the bible. God stated that he wished all humans to have free will, this would entail the power to kill yourself. You could also argue that it may be Gobs will and part of Gods plan for that particular persons life to end to reduce the suffering of others. There is also the argument of a 'slippery slope'. It states that, once it becomes legal and feasible for people to be killed, then people will begin to ask for a slightly more relaxed view on the situation and so on and so forth. This could then move to an extreme like this for example. A busy son has been given the job by his siblings of looking after his elderly discrepant father, instead of devoting his time and nursing him and keeping him healthy, he can just apply for a lethal injection to have his father 'put down' so he can concentrate on his own life. This is the type of thing the slippery slope argument believes could happen if it became acceptable to kill people, it would devalue human life. There are arguments that support the intentions behind euthanasia such as its practicality. It is in a way wrong to argue that killing someone can be practical and for the greater good, however when the structure of the argument of practicality is stripped down and properly analysed it does have a point. There are cases where strong believers of religion do not mind or are scared by the face of death as it puts them out of
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