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Proeuthanasiaarguments
Thispagesetsouttheargumentsinfavourofallowingeuthanasiaincertaincases.Shouldweacceptthat
euthanasiahappensandtrytoregulateitsafely?Dopeoplehavetherighttoarrangetheirowndeaths?

Overviewofproeuthanasiaarguments
Argumentsinfavourofeuthanasiacanbebrokendownintoafewmaincategories:

Argumentsbasedonrights
Peoplehaveanexplicitrighttodie
Aseparaterighttodieisnotnecessary,becauseourotherhumanrightsimplytherighttodie
Deathisaprivatematterandifthereisnoharmtoothers,thestateandotherpeoplehavenorightto
interfere(alibertarianargument)

Practicalarguments
Itispossibletoregulateeuthanasia
Deathisaprivatematterandifthereisnoharmtoothers,thestateandotherpeoplehavenorightto
interfere(alibertarianargument)
Allowingpeopletodiemayfreeupscarcehealthresources(thisisapossibleargument,butnoauthority
hasseriouslyproposedit)
Euthanasiahappensanyway(autilitarianorconsequentialistargument)

Philosophicalarguments
Euthanasiasatisfiesthecriterionthatmoralrulesmustbeuniversalisable
Euthanasiahappensanyway(autilitarianorconsequentialistargument)
Isdeathabadthing?

Argumentsaboutdeathitself
Isdeathabadthing?

Regulatingeuthanasia
Thoseinfavourofeuthanasiathinkthatthereisnoreasonwhyeuthanasiacan'tbecontrolledbyproper
regulation,buttheyacknowledgethatsomeproblemswillremain.
Forexample,itwillbedifficulttodealwithpeoplewhowanttoimplementeuthanasiaforselfishreasonsor
pressurisevulnerablepatientsintodying.
Thisislittledifferentfromthepositionwithanycrime.Thelawprohibitstheft,butthatdoesn'tstopbadpeople
stealingthings.

Peoplehavetherighttodie
Humanbeingshavetherighttodiewhenandhowtheywantto
In...caseswheretherearenodependantswhomightexertpressureonewayortheother,therightofthe
individualtochooseshouldbeparamount.Solongasthepatientislucid,andhisorherintentisclearbeyond
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doubt,thereneedbenofurtherquestions.
TheIndependent,March2002
Manypeoplethinkthateachpersonhastherighttocontrolhisorherbodyandlifeandsoshouldbeableto
determineatwhattime,inwhatwayandbywhosehandheorshewilldie.
Behindthisliestheideathathumanbeingsshouldbeasfreeaspossibleandthatunnecessaryrestraintson
humanrightsareabadthing.
Andbehindthatliestheideathathumanbeingsareindependentbiologicalentities,withtherighttotakeandcarry
outdecisionsaboutthemselves,providingthegreatergoodofsocietydoesn'tprohibitthis.Alliedtothisisafirm
beliefthatdeathistheend.

Religiousobjections
ReligiousopponentsdisagreebecausetheybelievethattherighttodecidewhenapersondiesbelongstoGod.

Secularobjections
Secularopponentsarguethatwhateverrightswehavearelimitedbyourobligations.Thedecisiontodieby
euthanasiawillaffectotherpeopleourfamilyandfriends,andhealthcareprofessionalsandwemustbalancethe
consequencesforthem(guilt,grief,anger)againstourrights.
Weshouldalsotakeaccountofourobligationstosociety,andbalanceourindividualrighttodieagainstanybad
consequencesthatitmighthaveforthecommunityingeneral.
Thesebadconsequencesmightbepracticalsuchasmakinginvoluntaryeuthanasiaeasierandsoputting
vulnerablepeopleatrisk.
Thereisalsoapoliticalandphilosophicalobjectionthatsaysthatourindividualrighttoautonomyagainstthestate
mustbebalancedagainsttheneedtomakethesanctityoflifeanimportant,intrinsic,abstractvalueofthestate.
Secularphilosophersputforwardanumberoftechnicalarguments,mostlybasedonthedutytopreservelife
becauseithasvalueinitself,ortheimportanceofregardingallhumanbeingsasendsratherthanmeans.

Otherhumanrightsimplyarighttodie
Withoutcreating(oracknowledging)aspecificrighttodie,itispossibletoarguethatotherhumanrightsoughtto
betakentoincludethisright.

Therighttolifeincludestherighttodie
Therighttolifeisnotarightsimplytoexist
Therighttolifeisarighttolifewithaminimumqualityandvalue
Deathistheoppositeoflife,buttheprocessofdyingispartoflife
Dyingisoneofthemostimportanteventsinhumanlife
Dyingcanbegoodorbad
Peoplehavetherighttotryandmaketheeventsintheirlivesasgoodaspossible
Sotheyhavetherighttotrytomaketheirdyingasgoodaspossible
Ifthedyingprocessisunpleasant,peopleshouldhavetherighttoshortenit,andthusreducethe
unpleasantness
Peoplealsohaveobligationstotheirfriendsandfamily,totheirdoctorsandnurses,tosocietyingeneral
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Theseobligationslimittheirrights
Theseobligationsdonotoutweighaperson'srighttorefusemedicaltreatmentthattheydonotwant
Buttheydopreventapatienthavinganyrighttobekilled
Butevenifthereisarighttodie,thatdoesn'tmeanthatdoctorshaveadutytokill,sonodoctorcanbeforced
tohelpthepatientwhowantseuthanasia.

Therightnottobekilled
Therighttolifegivesapersontherightnottobekillediftheydon'twanttobe.
Thoseinfavourofeuthanasiawillarguethatrespectforthisrightnottobekilledissufficienttoprotectagainst
misuseofeuthanasia,asanydoctorwhokillsapatientwhodoesn'twanttodiehasviolatedthatperson'srights.
Opponentsofeuthanasiamaydisagree,andarguethatallowingeuthanasiawillgreatlyincreasetheriskofpeople
whowanttolivebeingkilled.Thedangerofviolatingtherighttolifeissogreatthatweshouldbaneuthanasiaeven
ifitmeansviolatingtherighttodie.

Therightstoprivacyandfreedomofbeliefincludearighttodie
Thisistheideathattherightstoprivacyandfreedomofbeliefgiveapersontherighttodecidehowandwhento
die.

TheEuropeanConventiononHumanRightsgivesapersontherightto
die
NotaccordingtoBritain'shighestcourt.
Itconcludedthattherighttolifedidnotgiveanyrighttoselfdeterminationoverlifeanddeath,sincethe
provisionsoftheconventionwereaimedatprotectingandpreservinglife.

Englishlawalreadyacknowledgesthatpeoplehavetherighttodie
ThisargumentisbasedonthefactthattheSuicideAct(1961)madeitlegalforpeopletotaketheirownlives.
Opponentsofeuthanasiamaydisagree:
TheSuicideActdoesn'tnecessarilyacknowledgearighttodie
itcouldsimplyacknowledgethatyoucan'tpunishsomeoneforsucceedingatsuicide
andthatit'sinappropriatetopunishsomeonesodistressedthattheywanttotaketheirownlife.
Euthanasiaopponentsfurtherpointoutthatthereisamoraldifferencebetweendecriminalisingsomething,often
forpracticalreasonslikethosementionedabove,andencouragingit.
TheycanquitereasonablyarguethatthepurposeoftheSuicideActisnottoalloweuthanasia,andsupportthis
argumentbypointingoutthattheActmakesitacrimetohelpsomeonecommitsuicide.Thisistrue,butthat
provisionisreallytheretomakeitimpossibletoescapeamurderchargebydressingthecrimeupasanassisted
suicide.

Libertarianargument
Thisisavariationoftheindividualrightsargument.
Ifanactionpromotesthebestinterestsofeveryoneconcernedandviolatesnoone'srightsthenthatactionis
morallyacceptable
Insomecases,euthanasiapromotesthebestinterestsofeveryoneinvolvedandviolatesnoone'srights
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Itisthereforemorallyacceptable

Objectionstothisargument
Opponentsattackthelibertarianargumentspecificallybyclaimingthattherearenocasesthatfittheconditions
above:
peoplesometimesthinkthingsareintheirbestintereststhatarenotmorallyacceptable
Theargumentsthateuthanasiaisintrinsicallywrongfitinhere
peoplearesometimeswrongaboutwhat'sintheirbestinterests
peoplemaynotrealisethatcommittingeuthanasiamayharmotherpeople
euthanasiamaydepriveboththepersonwhodiesandothersofbenefits
euthanasiaisnotaprivateactwecannotignoreanybadeffectsitmayhaveonsocietyingeneral

Medicalresources
Euthanasiamaybenecessaryforthefairdistributionofhealth
resources
Thisargumenthasnotbeenputforwardpubliclyorseriouslybyanygovernmentorhealthauthority.Itisincluded
hereforcompleteness.
Inmostcountriesthereisashortageofhealthresources.
Asaresult,somepeoplewhoareillandcouldbecuredarenotabletogetspeedyaccesstothefacilitiestheyneed
fortreatment.
Atthesametimehealthresourcesarebeingusedonpeoplewhocannotbecured,andwho,fortheirownreasons,
wouldprefernottocontinueliving.
Allowingsuchpeopletocommiteuthanasiawouldnotonlyletthemhavewhattheywant,itwouldfreevaluable
resourcestotreatpeoplewhowanttolive.
Abuseofthiswouldbepreventedbyonlyallowingthepersonwhowantedtodietointitiatetheprocess,andby
regulationsthatrigorouslypreventedabuse.

Objectionstothisargument
Thisproposalisanentirelypragmaticoneitsaysthatweshouldalloweuthanasiabecauseitwillallowmorepeople
tobehappy.Suchargumentswillnotconvinceanyonewhobelievesthateuthanasiaiswronginprinciple.
Otherswillobjectbecausetheybelievethatsuchaproposaliswideopentoabuse,andwouldultimatelyleadto
involuntaryeuthanasiabecauseofshortageofhealthresources.
Intheend,theyfear,peoplewillbeexpectedtocommiteuthanasiaassoonastheybecomeanunreasonable
burdenonsociety.

Moralrulesmustbeuniversalisable
Oneofthecommonlyacceptedprinciplesinethics,putforwardbyImmanuelKant,isthatonlythoseethical
principlesthatcouldbeacceptedasauniversalrule(i.e.onethatappliedtoeverybody)shouldbeaccepted.
Soyoushouldonlydosomethingifyou'rewillingforanybodytodoexactlythesamethinginexactlysimilar
circumstances,regardlessofwhotheyare.

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Thejustificationforthisruleishardtofindmanypeoplethinkit'sjustanobvioustruth(philosopherscallsuch
truthsselfevident).Youfindvariationsofthisideainmanyfaithsforexample"dountoothersasyouwouldhave
themdountoyou".
Toputitmoreformally:
Aruleisuniversalisableifitcanconsistentlybewilledasalawthateveryoneoughttoobey.Theonlyruleswhich
aremorallygoodarethosewhichcanbeuniversalised.
Thepersoninfavourofeuthanasiaarguesthatgivingeverybodytherighttohaveagooddeaththrougheuthanasia
isacceptableasauniversalprinciple,andthateuthanasiaisthereforemorallyacceptable.

Thisalonedoesnotjustifyeuthanasia
Thisissound,butisnotafulljustification.
Ifapersonwantstobeallowedtocommiteuthanasia,itwouldclearlybeinconsistentforthemtosaythatthey
didn'tthinkitshouldbeallowedforotherpeople.
Buttheprincipleofuniversalisabilitydoesn'tactuallyprovideanypositivejustificationforanythinggenuinemoral
rulesmustbeuniversalisable,butuniversalisabilityisnotenoughtosaythataruleisasatisfactorymoralrule.
Universalisabilityisthereforeonlyanecessarycondition,notasufficientconditionforaruletobeamorallygood
rule.
So,otherthanshowingthatonepreconditionismet,universalisibilitydoesn'tadvancethecaseforeuthanasiaat
all.

Howsimilarcansituationsbe?
Everycaseisdifferentinsomerespect,soanyonewhoisinclinedtoargueaboutitcanargueaboutwhetherthe
particulardifferencesaresufficenttomakethiscaseanexceptiontotherule.

Universalexceptionstouniversalrules
Oddlyenough,thelawofuniversalisabilityallowsfortheretobeexceptionsaslongastheexceptionsare
themselvesuniversalisable.Soyoucouldhaveauniversalruleallowingvoluntaryeuthanasiaanduniversalisean
exceptionforpeoplewhowerelessthan18yearsold.

Euthanasiahappensanyway
Euthanasiahappensbettertomakeitlegalandregulateitproperly
Soundsabitlike"murderhappensbettertomakeitlegalandregulateitproperly".
Whenyouputitlikethat,theargumentsoundsveryfeebleindeed.
Butitisonethatisusedalotindiscussion,andparticularlyinpoliticsorroundthetableinthepuborthecanteen.
Peoplesaythingslike"wecan'tcontroldrugssowe'dbetterlegalisethem",or"ifwedon'tmakeabortionlegalso
thatpeoplecanhaveitdoneinhospital,peoplewilldiefrombackstreetabortions".
WhatliesbehinditisUtilitarianism:thebeliefthatmoralrulesshouldbedesignedtoproducethegreatest
happinessofthegreatestnumberofpeople.
Ifyouacceptthisasthebasisforyourethicalcode(andit'sthebasisofmanypeople'sethics),thenthearguments
aboveareperfectlysensible.
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Ifyoudon'tacceptthisprinciple,butbelievethatcertainthingsarewrongregardlessofwhateffecttheyhaveon
totalhumanhappiness,thenyouwillprobablyregardthisargumentascynicalandwrong.

Autilitarianargumentforeuthanasia
Fromautilitarianviewpoint,justifyingeuthanasiaisaquestionofshowingthatallowingpeopletohaveagood
death,atatimeoftheirownchoosing,willmakethemhappierthanthepainfromtheirillness,thelossofdignity
andthedistressofanticipatingaslow,painfuldeath.Someonewhowantseuthanasiawillhavealreadymadethis
comparisonforthemselves.
Bututilitarianismdealswiththetotalhumanhappiness,notjustthatofthepatient,sothateveneuthanasia
opponentswhoagreewithutilitarianisminprinciplecanclaimthatthenegativeeffectsonthosearoundthepatient
family,friendsandmedicalstaffwouldoutweighthebenefittothepatient.
Itishardtomeasurehappinessobjectively,butonewaytotestthisargumentwouldbetospeaktothefamilies
andcarersofpeoplewhohadcommittedassistedsuicide.
Opponentscanalsoarguethattheneteffectonthewholeofsocietywillbeadecreaseinhappiness.Theonlyway
toapproachthiswouldbetolookatcountrieswhereeuthanasiaislegal.However,asnotwocountriesarealike,it
seemsimpossibletoextricatethehappinessorunhappinessresultingfromlegalassistedsuicide,fromany
happinessorunhappinessfromothersources.
Evenifyouagreewiththeutilitarianargument,youthenhavetodealwiththeargumentsthatsuggestthat
euthanasiacan'tbeproperlyregulated.

Isdeathabadthing?
Whyaskthisquestion?
Ifdeathisnotabadthingthenmanyoftheobjectionstoeuthanasiavanish.
Ifweputasidetheideathatdeathisalwaysabadthing,weareabletoconsiderwhetherdeathmayactually
sometimesbeagoodthing.
Thismakesitmucheasiertoconsidertheissueofeuthanasiafromtheviewpointofsomeonewhowants
euthanasia.

Whyisdeathabadthing?
Wetendtoregarddeathasabadthingforoneormoreofthesereasons:
becausehumanlifeisintrinsicallyvaluable
becauselifeanddeathareGod'sbusinesswithwhichweshouldn'tinterfere
becausemostpeopledon'twanttodie
becauseitviolatesourautonomyinadrasticway
Thefirsttworeasonsformkeypointsintheargumentsagainsteuthanasia,butonlyifyouacceptthattheyare
true.
Thelasttworeasonswhydeathisabadthingarenotabsoluteifapersonwantstodie,thenneitherofthose
reasonscanbeusedtosaythattheywouldbewrongtoundergoeuthanasia.

Peopledon'tusuallywanttodie
Peopleareusuallyeagertoavoiddeathbecausetheyvaluebeingalive,becausetheyhavemanythingstheywish
todo,andexperiencestheywishtohave.
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Obviously,thisisnotthecasewithapatientwhowishestodieandproperregulationwillweedoutpeoplewho
donotreallywanttodie,butareaskingforotherreasons.

Violationofautonomy
Anotherreasonwhydeathisseenasabadthingisthatit'stheworstpossibleviolationofthethewishesofthe
personwhodoesnotwanttodie(or,tousephilosophicallanguage,aviolationoftheirautonomy).
Inthecaseofsomeonewhodoeswanttodie,thisobjectiondisappears.

Beingdead,versusnothavingbeenborn
Somepeoplesaythatbeingdeadisnodifferentfromnothavingbeenbornyet,andnobodymakesafussaboutthe
badtimetheyhadbeforetheywereborn.
Thereisabigdifferenceeventhoughbeingdeadwillbenodifferentasanexperiencefromtheexperienceofnot
havingyetbeenborn.
Theideaisthatdeathhurtspeoplebecauseitstopsthemhavingmoreofthethingsthattheywant,andcould
haveiftheycontinuedtolive.
Someonewhomakesarequestforeuthanasiaislikelytohaveabadqualityoflife(orabadprognosis,evenifthey
arenotyetsufferingmuch)andtheknowledgethatthiswillonlygetworse.Ifthatisthecase,deathwillnot
deprivethemofanotherwisepleasantexistence.
Ofcourse,mostpatientswillstillbeleavingbehindsomethingsthataregood:forexample,lovedonesandthings
theyenjoy.Askingfordeathdoesnotnecessarilymeanthattheyhavenothingtolivefor:onlythatthepatienthas
decidedthatafteracertainpoint,thepainoutweighsthegoodthings.

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