Euthanasia

THE FIRST STEP IN THE EVOLUTION OF ETHICS IS A SENSE OF SOLIDARITY WITH OTHER HUMAN
BEINGS
- ALBERT SWEITER
PRESENTERS:

 Crystal Daniels USI 1006070

 Shemane Peters USI 1030178
 Deanne Clement USI
 Reha George USI 1029321
 OBJECTIVES
 Define Euthanasia?

 Types of Euthanasia

 The Euthanasia Debate

 Religious views on Euthanasia

 Physical sentiments

 Legal status

 Examples of Euthanasia cases

 WHAT IS EUTHANASIA?
 Greek ‘eu’ meaning ‘easy’ and ‘Thanatos’ meaning ‘ death’= easy death.
 Intentional premature ending of another person’s life

Either:
1. Patient consents to it =voluntary
2. Patient does not request e.g. in a coma = non voluntary
 By direct means- _active euthanasia e.g. lethal injection
 Passive euthanasia e.g. withholding medicine, life support
 WHAT IS EUTHANASIA?
 Euthanasia refers to deliberately ending someone’s life, usually to relieve suffering.

 Doctors sometimes perform euthanasia when it’s requested by people who have a terminal
illness and are in a lot of pain.

 It’s a complex process and involves weighing many factors. Local laws, someone’s physical
and mental health, and their personal beliefs and wishes all play a role.
 TYPES OF EUTHANASIA

 Active Euthanasia

 Passive Euthanasia
 ACTIVE VS. PASSIVE EUTHANASIA
Active Euthanasia

 When a doctor directly ends a patient’s life.

 Purposely giving someone a lethal dose of a sedative is considered active euthanasia.

 ACTIVE VS. PASSIVE EUTHANASIA
Passive euthanasia

 Withholding or limiting life-sustaining treatments so that a patient passes more quickly.

 A doctor may also prescribe increasingly high doses of pain-killing medication. Overtime,
the doses may become toxic.
 Voluntary vs. Non voluntary Euthanasia

Voluntary euthanasia
 If someone makes a conscious decision to seek help with ending their life, it’s considered voluntary
euthanasia.

 The person must give their full consent and demonstrate that they fully understand what will happen.

Non voluntary euthanasia

 This involves someone else making the decision to end someone’s life. For example; a close family
member usually makes the decision.

 This is generally done when someone is completely unconscious or permanently incapacitated. It

usually involves passive euthanasia, such as withdrawing life support from someone who’s showing no
signs of brain activity.
 EUTHANASIA VS. ASSISTED SUICIDE

Assisted suicide vs. euthanasia

 Assisted suicide is sometimes called physician-assisted suicide (PAS). PAS means a doctor
knowingly helps someone end their life.

 This person is likely experiencing persistent and unending suffering. For example a patient with
70% Mixed Burns to Body in severe pain

 They may have also received a terminally ill diagnosis. Their doctor will determine the most
effective, painless method.

 With euthanasia, a doctor decides to end the patient’s life by painless means. For example, A
lethal dose of opioids, for example, may be prescribed for this.
 EUTHANASIA VS. PALLIATIVE
CARE
 Many believe that because Palliative Care is available then euthanasia should not beallowed.

 End of life care includes palliative care. If you have an incurable illness, palliative care will
make you as comfortable as possible by controlling pain, while providing psychological, social
and spiritual support for you and your family or carers.

 This is called a holistic approach, as it deals with the "whole" person rather than just one
aspect of care.

 Palliative care provides an alternative to Euthanasia. Instead of dying in hospitals while

pursuing aggressive, terminally ill patients could spend their last days with their pain under
control, their depression (from being terminally ill) being treated, and not subject to expensive
and burdensome aggressive medical technology.
 DEBATE
Is Euthanasia legal?
People have debated over the ethics and legality of euthanasia and PAS for centuries. Today,
laws about euthanasia and PAS are different across states and countries.

FOR Euthanasia
1. The compassion Argument
Supporters of euthanasia believe that allowing people to die with dignity is kinder than forcing
them to continue their lives with suffering “we need it”.
2. The Autonomy Argument
Supporters believe that every patient has a right to choose when they want to die. “we want it”.
 DEBATE CONTINUED
3. The Public Policy Argument
Supporters belief that euthanasia can be safely regulated by government legislation.

AGAINST Euthanasia
 We do not have to kill the patient. To kill the symptoms nearly all pain can be relieved e.x.
alternate treatment is available such as palliative care and hospices.

 There is no right to be killed. Opening the doors to voluntary euthanasia could lead to non
voluntary euthanasia, by giving doctors the power to decide when a patient’s life is not worth
living.
 DEBATE CONTINUED
 “We could never control it”. In countries where euthanasia and physician assisted suicide is
legal reveal that doctors do not always report when they pull the plug to take a patient off of
the life support ventilator.

 The assumptions that patients should have a right to die would impose on doctors duty to kill,
thus restricting the autonomy of the doctor.

 Aright to die by others, especially for those persons who are vulnerable and other terminally
ill patients who are dependent on others.
 RELIGIOUS VIEWS ON EUTHANASIA

Christian view

Christians are mostly against euthanasia. The arguments are usually based on the beliefs that life is given by God and that human beings are made in the image of God.

Position of Judaism

Euthanasia and all other types of suicide are almost unanimously condemned in Jewish thought, primarily because it is viewed as taking a human life that belongs to God for “only He who gives life may take it away”. For Judaism, human life is, “ created un the image of God.”
 RELIGIOUS VIEWS ON
EUTHANASIA
Position of Islam

Human life per se is a value to be respected unconditionally. The

concept of a life not worth living does not exist in Islam. Justification
of taking life to escape suffering is not acceptable in Islam.
 RELIGIOUS VIEWS ON
EUTHANASIA
Buddhism view
 An important value of Buddhism teaching is compassion.
 Compassion is used by some Buddhists as a justification for euthanasia because the person
suffering is relieved of pain. However, it is still immoral "to embark on any course of action
whose aim is to destroy human life, irrespective of the quality of the individual's motive.
 
Hinduism views
 There are two Hindu views on euthanasia. By helping to end a painful life a person is performing
a good deed and so fulfilling their moral obligations. Euthanasia may also be acceptable if it is
used for selfless motives. On the other hand, by helping to end a life, even one filled with
suffering, a person is disturbing the timing of the cycle of death and rebirth. This is a bad thing to
do, and those involved in the euthanasia will take on the remaining karma of the patient death.
 PHYSICIAN’S SENTIMENT ON EUTHANASIA

 Among U.S. physicians, Euthanasia remains controversial, but national data point to its increasing acceptance. A
report published in December 2016 found 57 percent of doctors agreed that physician-assisted death should be
available to the terminally ill – up from 54 percent in 2014 and 46 percent in 2010.

 Some physicians believe that the ambivalence and discomfort experienced by a substantial percentage of
Euthanasia participating physicians is directly connected to the Hippocratic Oath – arguably, the most important
foundational document in medical ethics. The Oath clearly states:

 “I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody if asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect.”
 LEGAL STATUS OF
EUTHANASIA
 Universal Declaration on Human Rights

Article 3 declares -“Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person”.

 The International Convention on Civil and Political Rights

Article 6 (1) states- “Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be
protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life”.

The competing interest to this right is a person's right to die with dignity.
 COUNTRIES WHERE EUTHANASIA IS
ILLEGAL
Euthanasia is illegal in several countries including Guyana.
 Other countries include:

 New Zealand

 China

 India

 Israel
COUNTRIES WHERE EUTHANASIA IS
ILLEGAL
 Norway  Italy

 Ireland  Russia

 Switzerland  Spain

 UK

 The US
 COUNTRIES WHERE EUTHANASIA IS
LEGAL
 Belgium- The euthanasia law was amended in 2014 making it legal for Doctors to terminate
the life of a child.

 Luxembourg- legal since 2008

 The Netherlands -legal since 2002

 New Zealand- since 2016

 EXAMPLES OF EUTHANASIA
CASES TONY NICKILSON

- a former rugby player who suffered from a nervous disorder.

- He had argued in court that he would be physically unable to

administer a lethal drug to himself, and that his only path to release
from his “living nightmare” would be permission from the court to
have a doctor administer the necessary dose without fear of
prosecution.

- Mr. Nickilson lost the case.

 In 2015, 14 year old Valentina Maureira, a Chilean girl
suffering from Cystic fribrosis sought permission from
the nation’s president to end her life.

Chilean laws prohibit euthanasia and assisted suicide,

thereby preventing the president from granting her
request.

Three (3) months later Maureira died as a result of her

condition.
 In 1990, 26-year-old Terri Schiavo fell into a persistent
vegetative state after suffering cardiac arrest.

 A fierce highly public battle took place between her

parents, Robert and Mary Schindler, and her husband,
Michael Schiavo, who wanted to disconnect her feeding
tube.

 Terri's husband argued that his wife would not have wanted
her life artificially prolonged, with no hope of recovery.

 The court eventually sided with Mr. Schiavo and ordered

that the feeding tube be removed in 2005, Terri was 41
years old.
 REFERENCES

Euthanasia- Where does the rest of the world stand. Retrieved from SBS News website 2019, June 22:
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Gallagher, J. Health-Tony Nicklinson loses high court right-to-die case. Retrieved from BBC News Website 2019, June 22:
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-19249680

Merriam- Wesbster. . Retrieved from merriam-webster.com: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/euthanasia

O'Brien R, C. F. Health news- Chilean girl with cystic fibrosis tells president- let me die. Retrieved from Reuters website 2019,June 20:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-chile-euthanasia/chilean-girl-with-cystic-fibrosis-tells-president-let-me-die-idUSKBN0LU1PL20150226

Platt, S. A look back: The Terri Schiavo case. Retrieved from CBC News website:
https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/look-back-in-history-terri-schiavo-death/

United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commission. Retrieved from Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights website 2019,
June 22
https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/ccpr.aspx

Universal Declaration of Human Rights.. Retrieved from United Nations website 2019. June 22 : https://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-
human-rights/