Euthanasia Presenter: Guranda Iobashvili

Lecturer: Khatuna basilashvili

What is euthanasia?

Euthanasia is the practice of intentionally ending a life

to relieve pain and suffering. The term is derived from the
Greek word euthanatos which means ”good death”. Very
often people call euthanasia 'mercy killing’.
A person who undergoes euthanasia usually has an
incurable condition.
There are 3 main categories of Euthanasia.

 Voluntary euthanasia
 Non-voluntary euthanasia
 Involuntary euthanasia
 Voluntary euthanasia
Voluntary euthanasia occurs at the request of the person who
dies. It is conducted with the consent of the patient.

Voluntary
euthanasia is legal
in some countries.
Non-voluntary euthanasia
Non-voluntary euthanasia occurs when the person is
unconscious or otherwise unable to make a meaningful
choice between living and dying, and an appropriate
person takes the decision on their behalf.

Non-voluntary
euthanasia is illegal
in all countries.
Involuntary euthanasia
Involuntary euthanasia occurs when euthanasia is performed
on a person who would be able to provide informed consent, but
does not, either because they do not want to die, or because
they were not asked.
This is usually called murder, but it is possible to imagine
cases where the killing would count as being for the benefit of
the person who dies.

Involuntary
euthanasia is
illegal in all
countries.
Active and Passive euthanasia

 In active euthanasia a person directly and deliberately

causes the patient's death .Active euthanasia is when death
is brought about by an act - for example when a person is
killed by being given an overdose of pain-killers.

 In passive euthanasia they don't directly take the

patient's life, they just allow them to die.
 Assisted Suicide
Assisted suicide occurs when people intentionally kill
themselves with the assistance of another person,who
provides the knowledge or means to do it. For example,
when a friend or relative obtains a lethal drug and
provides it to the person to commit suicide.

Physician-assisted suicide occurs when a person

requests a doctor to assist them in committing suicide,
for example, when a doctor provides a person with a
prescription to obtain a lethal dose of drugs.
The ethics of euthanasia
Euthanasia raises a number of moral dilemmas:
 Is it ever right to end the life of a terminally ill
patient who is undergoing severe pain and
suffering?
 Under what circumstances can euthanasia be
justifiable, if at all?
 Is there a moral difference between killing
someone and letting them die?
 Should human beings have the right to decide on
issues of life and death?
Arguments for euthanasia
 Freedom of choice: Advocates argue that the patients should be able to
make their own choices. Human beings should have the right to be able to
decide when and how they die .
 Quality of life: Only the patients really know how they feel, and how the
physical and emotional pain of illness and prolonged death impacts their
quality of life.
 Dignity: Euthanasia enables a person to die with dignity and in control of
his/her situation.
 Humane: It is more humane to allow a person with intractable suffering to
choose to end that suffering.
Arguments for euthanasia
 Resources: It makes more sense to channel the resources of
highly-skilled staff, equipment, hospital beds, and medications
towards life-saving treatments for those who wish to live,
rather than those who do not.
 Loved ones: Family and friends would be spared the pain of
seeing their loved ones suffering for a long period of time.
 Society permits animals to be put down as an act of kindness
when they are suffering; the same treatment should be
available for humans.
 Arguments against euthanasia
 The doctor's role: Health  Patient competence:
care professionals may be Euthanasia is only
unwilling to compromise voluntary if the patient is
their professional roles, mentally competent, with
especially in the light of a lucid understanding of
the Hippocratic Oath. available options and
consequences.
 Moral and religious
arguments: Several faiths
see euthanasia as a form of
murder and morally
unacceptable.
 Arguments against euthanasia
 Guilt: Patients may feel they are a burden on resources and
are psychologically pressured into consenting.

 Mental illness and psychological factors: A person

with depression is more likely to ask for assisted suicide,
and this can complicate the decision. Depression, feeling
burden, fearing lose of control or dignity often cause people
to think of euthanasia.

 Possible recovery: Very occasionally, a patient recovers,

against all the odds. The diagnosis might be wrong.
Religious views about euthanasia
The roman catholic church condemns
euthanasia and assisted suicide as morally
wrong. It states that “intentional euthanasia,
whatever its forms or motives, is murder.”

Islam also goes against euthanasia. It’s

considered contrary to Islamic law and holy
texts.
There is much debate on the topic of
euthanasia in Judaic theology. Passive
euthanasia was declared legal by Israel’s highest
court, but active remains illegal.
Legality
Efforts to change government policies on euthanasia of humans in the 20th and 21st
centuries have met limited success in Western countries. Human euthanasia policies have
also been developed by a variety of NGOs, most notably medical associations and
advocacy organizations.
As of March 2018, active human euthanasia is legal in the Netherlands, Belgium,
Colombia, Luxembourg, and Canada.
Active euthanasia is legal
Passive euthanasia is legal
Unknown
 Movies about
euthanasia
Jack Kevorkian – American
pathologist and euthanasia
proponent.

He claimed to have
assisted at least 130
patients. He was
portrayed in the media
with the name of
DR.death.

“Dying is not a crime”

 Thanks for
your attention!