THE MORAL ISSUE ON

EUTHANASIA
• Respect for a person’s life, his bodily and mental integrity and health
belongs to the fundamental rights of man. To this right corresponds
the duty of respecting the health and life of others.
• The Encyclical Letter Gaudium et Spes stressed that: From Vatican (issued by the
Pope)
whatever is opposed to life itself, such as any type of murder,
genocide, abortion, euthanasia or wilful self-destruction,
whatever violates the integrity of the human person, such as
mutilation, torments inflicted on body or mind, attempts to
coerce the will itself; whatever insults human dignity, such as
subhuman living conditions, arbitrary imprisonment,
deportation, slavery, prostitution, the selling of women and
children; as well as disgraceful working conditions, where men
are treated as mere tools for profit, rather than as free and
responsible persons; all these things and others of their like are
infamies indeed. They poison human society, but they do more
harm to those who practice them than those who suffer from
the injury. Moreover, they are supreme dishonor to the Creator.
Because the Creator created everyone
- Life is sacred.. (inviolability of life)
• Physical life and health are goods entrusted to man by God. In this regard,
man has an obligation to take care of one’s health.
• Man has a natural inclination to take care of himself, it becomes an instinct
for a man to take good care of himself.
• Since all persons have the same instinct of taking good care of one’s body,
it becomes now an obligation for everybody to take good care also of
others.
 THE DEFINITION OF DEATH

• Everyone knows for a fact that we will die someday, somehow, and
somewhere. The philosopher Martin Heidegger, considered man as
being-towards-death. Death may be negative. But for Heidegger, death
is a completion of life.
• Death provides man an understanding as well as an appreciation of life.
• It also gives meaning for his own existence.
 THE DEFINITION OF DEATH

• Because the life of man is considered to be important and sacred,

death becomes a painful event in man’s existence. Since man knows
that he will die one day, life for him, becomes so important that he
will try his best to cherish each moment of his existence.
• The impending death of man keeps him in an anxiety and anguish
because of his incapacity to determine the time and manner of his
death no matter how certain he already is that he will die anyway.
 THE DEFINITION OF DEATH

• Why is death painful? Death should rather be considered natural just

as how man considered birth to be.
• Death is Simply defined as the cessation of life. It is the total arrest of
both the intellectual and the physiological functions in an individual;
a total ceasing of the functions of the organ. It is the complete and
permanent absence of any brain-related vital body functions.
Death is irreversible.
 THE MEANING OF EUTHANASIA

• Euthanasia comes from the two Greek words “eu”, which means
“easy” and “thanatos” which means “death.” Hence euthanasia means
easy death.
• Euthanasia is a direct killing of an incurably sick, be it at sick
person’s own request or at the request of the legal representative in
the case of incurables who are incapable of making decisions for
themselves
 THE MEANING OF EUTHANASIA

• Inasmuch as the reason for the imposition of death is due to the

pitiful situation of the person who is sick, euthanasia became
understood as a mercy killing.
• The main aim of euthanasia is to preserve human dignity until death.
 THE MEANING OF EUTHANASIA

According to T. Gary Williams, there are three arguments as to why

euthanasia can be considered morally wrong.
1. Argument from nature. The nature of the human person is to live
and to preserve himself. It is considered as intentional killing.
It opposes and violates the natural moral law.
 THE MEANING OF EUTHANASIA

2. Argument from self-interest. The danger of performing euthanasia

for sick patient is that it may be administered not really for the purpose
of ending the pain of the person but because of vested self-interests or
other consequences.
3. Argument from practical effects. If euthanasia will become a legal
practice, doctors and other healthcare professionals may be tempted
not to do their best in order to save the patient
 THE MEANING OF EUTHANASIA

• James Rachel considered euthanasia to be charitable act if this is

from the purpose of ending sufferings of a sick person.
• The inclination of man will always be to seek for pleasure; hence,
any experience of pain and suffering will be considered unnatural for
him. For this reason, bringing the person to death will mean doing a
great favor on the part of the suffering person.
 THE MEANING OF EUTHANASIA

• Philippa Foot held that the only way by which we will be able to
consider euthanasia to be morally acceptable will be when it is done
with the consent of the patient. For the person who is requesting for
an easy death, life will no longer be of worth and, therefore,
euthanasia will be considered an act of charity.
 THE MORAL DECISONS

• For the utilitarian, euthanasia is considered to be legitimate if one

will apply the principle of the greatest happiness for the greatest
number of people. Euthanasia may be considered morally legitimate
if a comatose patient is already being considered as a liability to his
relatives.
 THE MORAL DECISONS

• For John Rawls, inasmuch as every individual is inviolable, to put

anyone to death for the purpose of upholding the welfare of the
family or the greater number of people will be considered morally
illegitimate. However, a person’s inviolability demands also that his
dignity is preserved and that justice is served if he is given a painless
death.
 THE MORAL DECISONS

• Joseph Fletcher would say that euthanasia can be morally acceptable

if it is for the purpose of upholding Christian love. Fletcher held that
“only the end justifies the means, nothing else.”
• From the point of view of The Natural Law Ethics, euthanasia is
considered immoral because it implies murder. A natural law upholds
the principle of stewardship and principle of inviolability of life.
Euthanasia, in this regard is against the 5th commandment of God.
 THE MORAL DECISONS

• Joseph Fletcher would say that euthanasia can be morally acceptable

if it is for the purpose of upholding Christian love. Fletcher held that
“only the end justifies the means, nothing else.”
• From the point of view of The Natural Law Ethics, euthanasia is
considered immoral because it implies murder. A natural law upholds
the principle of stewardship and principle of inviolability of life.
Euthanasia, in this regard is against the 5th commandment of God.
You shall not kill.
 THE MORAL DECISONS

• On the issue of suffering and human dignity, Christians have a

positive view on suffering. They consider suffering as replete with
meaning. For Christians, suffering is considered meaningful. The
following are said to be the justification of suffering.
 THE MORAL DECISONS

1. Suffering has a psychological value. Suffering facilitates the

acceptance of death. Suffering now helps the Christians accept death
meaningfully. When one is already in great pain, death can already be
easily accepted by suffering person.
2. Pain is a warning device. Pain and suffering must be considered by
the Christians as a way of participating in the suffering of Christ.
Suffering is a warning for us.
 THE MORAL DECISONS

3. When one use pain relievers, it can induce consciousness. One,

therefore, can use an increased dosage of pain relievers as long as the
intention is to relieve pain without intending for death.