Euthanasia

Prof. Kumar Neeraj Sachdev

Department of Humanities and Social Sciences
 Moral Dilemmas
• World Poverty
• Euthanasia
• Abortion
• Case Studies
 Euthanasia
• Euthanasia is a compound of two Greek words – eu and thanatos
– literally, “a good death.”
• Today, euthanasia is generally understood to mean bringing about
a good death – “mercy killing,” where one person, A, ends the life
of another person, B, for the sake of B.
• This understanding of euthanasia emphasizes two essential
features of acts of euthanasia.
• First, euthanasia involves the deliberate taking of a person’s life.
• Second, life is taken for the sake of the person whose life it is –
typically because she is suffering from an incurable or terminal
disease.
• This distinguishes euthanasia from most other forms of ending
life.
 Some Forms of Ending Life
• Euthanasia
• One person, A, ends the life of another person, B, for the sake of B.

• Abortion
• One person, A, ends the life of another person, B, for the sake of B or C.

• Suicide
• One person, A, ends the life of the same person, A, for the sake of A.

• Murder
• One person, A, with a wrongful intention and against B’s will, ends B’s life for A’s sake.

• Killing in Self-defense
• One person, A, with a reasonable fear of death or bodily harm from B, ends B’s life for A’s
sake.

– You may think through the forms of ending life apart from the content and examples of the issue.
This exercise will help students learn to describe and analyze the topic and case objectively.
 Arguments against Euthanasia
• Many religious thoughts suggest that human life
has sanctity and must not deliberately be taken.
• To take an innocent human life is to assume the
right of God to give and take life.
• While believing that moral truths were founded
on reason rather than religion, Immanuel Kant
nonetheless thought that “man cannot have the
power to dispose of his life.”
 Sanctity of Human Life
• The sanctity of human life is the theological or philosophical understanding
that all human life has an inherent dignity, worth and sacredness
(blessedness) that sets it apart from all other beings within the world.
• This perspective does not assert that human life is sacred in the sense of
being divine, but that its very essence is distinct within the biological world
and of incalculable worth, thus warranting protection throughout the
course of its entire existence.
• The sanctity of human life as a doctrine has both religious and
philosophical roots and is applied to a wide range of bioethical issues such
as abortion, euthanasia, genetic engineering, and body organ transplants.
Advocates often consider this understanding of human life to be the
foundation of moral civilization, and have applied it to issues outside of
bioethics such as human rights, suicide, and care for the poor and weak in
society.
• https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcrip
ts-and-maps/life-sanctity
 Arguments for Euthanasia
• Mercy for a hopelessly ill and
suffering patient and, in the case
of voluntary euthanasia, respect
for autonomy are the primary
reasons given by those who have
argued for the moral permissibility
of euthanasia.
 Respect for autonomy
• The word autonomy comes from the Greek autos-nomos meaning
“self-rule” or “self-determination”.
• According to Kantian ethics, autonomy is based on the human
capacity to direct one’s life according to rational principles.
Rationality, in Kant’s view, is the means to autonomy. Autonomous
people are considered to be ends in themselves in that they can
determine their destiny and must be respected.
• For John Stuart Mill, the concept of respect for autonomy involves
the capacity to think, decide and act freely and independently. Mill
advocated the principle of autonomy (or the principle of liberty as
he called it), provided that it did not cause harm to others.
• https://www.alzheimer-europe.org/Ethics/Definitions-and-approac
hes/The-four-common-bioethical-principles/Respect-for-autonomy
Some Conceptual Forms of Euthanasia
• Voluntary, Non-voluntary and
Involuntary Euthanasia
• Active and Passive Euthanasia
• Ordinary and Extraordinary
Means
 An Example
Mary F. was dying from a progressing
debilitating disease. She had reached the
stage where she was almost totally
paralyzed and, periodically, needed a
respirator to keep her alive. She was
suffering considerable distress. Knowing
that there was no hope and that things
would get worse, Mary F. wanted to die.
…
 An Example (Contd.)

She asked her doctor to give her

a lethal injection to end her life.
After consultation with her family
and members of the health care
team, Dr H administered the
asked for lethal injection, and
Mary F. died.
An Example After Modification (Contd.)

She asked her doctor to ensure that

she would not be put on a respirator
when her breathing would fail next.
The doctor agreed with Mary’s
wishes, instructed the nursing staff
accordingly, and Mary died eight
hours later, from respiratory failure.
 Two Options in the Example
• Voluntary Active Euthanasia

• Voluntary Passive Euthanasia

Conditions for Voluntary Active Euthanasia

• Doctors, and only doctors, may practice

euthanasia.
• The decision to die must be the voluntary and
considered decision of an informed patient.
• There must be physical or mental suffering which
the sufferer finds unbearable.
• There is no other reasonable (that is acceptable
to the patient) solution to improve the situation.
• The doctor must consult another senior
professional.
 Voluntary Passive Euthanasia
In March 2018, the Supreme Court of India
declared through a five-judge Constitution
bench that, the government would honor
“living wills” of people, that is to say, would
allow consenting patients to be passively
euthanized if the patient suffers from a
terminal illness or is in a vegetative state.
 A Criticism and Some Responses
• A Criticism: Justified killings will lead to unjustified killings.
• Some Responses:
– There are no logical grounds why the reasons that justify euthanasia –
mercy and respect for autonomy – should logically also justify killings
that are neither merciful nor show respect for autonomy.
– In its empirical version, the argument asserts that justified killings will
lead to unjustified killings. There is little empirical evidence to back up
this claim.
– The motivation, for example, behind the Nazi “euthanasia program”
was neither mercy nor respect for autonomy but racial prejudice.
– In the Netherlands, a social experiment with voluntary active
euthanasia is currently in progress. There is no evidence that this has
sent Dutch society down a slippery slope of unjustified killings.
 Concluding Remarks
• Euthanasia or Mercy Killing speaks about the
possible need to end a person's life, keeping in
view her unbearable painful condition without
any hope for future recovery.
• However, if Euthanasia or Mercy Killing has to be
permitted, it must be voluntary; that is to say, it
ought to be a medically approved option
emerging in response to a rationally considered
judgment of the patient concerned for her own
sake.
Thank You.
World Poverty, Euthanasia and
Abortion - Cases

Prof Kumar Neeraj Sachdev

6168-F
Department of Humanities and Social Sciences
 Case Study – The Idea
• Case study is a brief description of a problem-situation,
which is followed by the analysis of the case.
• The analysis of the case should involve the use of
relevant topic of study like Euthanasia and some part of
philosophical perspective.
• The analysis of the case will help the student to
– better understand the topic of study and the given
philosophical perspective and;
– to learn about the correct way to arrive at a philosophically
defensible judgment in a given problem-situation.

01/17/2024 20
 World Poverty

Zia Haq, Hindustan Times, New Delhi | Updated: Updated: Jul 28, 2016 12:46 IST
Octavio Paz, the Nobel winning Mexican poet who travelled to India as his
country’s ambassador in 1962, was surprised to see “incredible opulence”
surrounded by “equally unbelievable” poverty. How has India changed today?
India is now Asia’s third largest economy. In 2015, it had more billionaires than any
other country except the US and China, according to a Wall Street Journal report. A
billionaire census by the firms Wealth X and Swiss bank UBS conducted the same
year revealed India had more billionaires than Switzerland, Hong Kong and France
together. India’s economic path, apart from improving its poverty rates, has
produced a growing club of the super-rich. Yet, a poor human development record
and rising inequality are grim reminders of how India can’t rely on economic
growth alone.
The consequences of not tackling inequality in India, Angus Deaton, the recipient
of the 2015 Nobel Prize in economics, said, were the “same as in the US that the
rich capture more than their share of political power, so that the state stops
serving the majority of people”.
 Euthanasia
A 24-year-old man named Robert who has a wife and child is
paralyzed from the neck down in a motorcycle accident. He has
always been very active and hates the idea of being paralyzed. He
also is in a great deal of pain, and he has asked his doctors and other
members of his family to "put him out of his misery." After several
days of such pleading, his brother comes into Robert's hospital ward
and asks him if he is sure he still wants to be put out of his misery.
Robert says yes and pleads with his brother to kill him. The brother
kisses and blesses Robert, then takes out a gun and shoots him, killing
him instantly. The brother later is tried for murder and acquitted by
reason of temporary insanity.
Was what Robert's brother did moral? Do you think he should have
been brought to trial at all? Do you think he should have been
acquitted? Would you do the same for a loved one if you were asked?
 Abortion
Susan met her husband when they both just graduated from law school.
She and her husband Rick wanted a large family and thus they have four
children. When the couple’s youngest child was old enough to go to
school Susan decided that she would like to return to legal practice. She
realized how much she missed what she used to do before she became a
mother and felt as if she had given up on her career. After she talked to
her husband about the child care situation, Susan began her job
application process as a legal assistant at a law office. While searching for
a job Susan became pregnant and later on found out that the fetus has
Down syndrome. The doctor was unable to tell Susan whether the Down
syndrome will be mild or severe and knowing that having a child with a
disability may prevent her from ever returning to the working world she
decided to an abortion without her husband’s knowledge.
Was what Susan did moral? Do you think she should have shared the
information with her husband?
 Euthanasia
In September 2014, a convicted murderer and rapist who argued he was living a life of
unbearable psychological suffering in prison was granted the right to die under Belgium's
liberal euthanasia laws, paving the way for at least 15 similar requests from other inmates.
Since 2002, people living in Belgium can ask doctors to end their lives if a panel of medical
experts agrees that their physical or mental suffering is unbearable and irreversible. Frank
Van Den Bleeken, a 50-year-old serving life for sexual assault and murder, argued he would
never be able to overcome his violent impulses and would spend his life in prison. He has
been imprisoned for 30 years and asked to end his life three years ago. The board that
assesses each case said he had to seek psychological help first, but after he failed to find
such treatment, his request was granted. He was due to be euthanized in January 2015,
but it was suddenly canceled after doctors pulled out of the euthanasia procedure. Van
Den Bleeken's right to euthanasia had been strongly condemned by the family of his victim.
The two older sisters of Christiane Remacle, a 19-year-old girl raped and strangled to death
by Van Den Bleeken on her way home from a New Year's Eve party on January 1 1989,
called for him to “languish in prison” rather than be allowed a swift release. Was Bleeken’s
request morally justified? Do you think he should have been granted the right to die or else
do you think he should have been kept in prison? Would you suggest some changes in
Belgium’s liberal euthanasia laws?
 Euthanasia

An elderly couple has written to the President’s office, seeking permission for “active
euthanasia”, where a person is killed, usually by administering an overdose of pain-killers.
The couple, Iravati Lavate, 79, a retired school principal, and her husband Narayan, 86, a former
government employee, have no major health problems. However, the fear of falling terminally ill
and of not being able to “contribute to society” has pushed them to write to the President to
seek permission for “doctor-assisted death”, they said. The couple does not have any children.
When HT visited them at their house, Iravati said, “Within the first year of our marriage, we had
decided that we didn’t want to have children. Now, in our old age, we don’t want others to be
liable for our condition later.” While present laws in the country do not allow active euthanasia,
experts told HT the couple would have had a hard time even in countries that do because they
don’t have any life limiting disease. Dr Roop Gursahani, neurologist, PD Hinduja and Research
Centre, Mahim, who is part of a group advocating living wills, said that even countries where
active euthanasia is legal, the requisite is that the patient must have a terminally ill disease.
“Physician assisted dying is possible in a few countries, all democracies with very effective law
and justice systems. However, it is reserved for terminally ill patients with unacceptable
suffering,” he said. Lavate retired as an employee of the Maharashtra State Road Transport
Corporation after working for nearly 30 years; his wife, an ex-principal of Aryan E S High School,
Charni Road, was a science teacher for 37 years. Lavate said he wrote to the President because
the latter has the constitutional power to pardon life sentences, and should also have the power
to allow ‘right to death’.
 Euthanasia
104-year-old Australia scientist heads to Switzerland for assisted dying
Hindustan Times, Agence France-Presse, Sydney Updated: Apr 30, 2018 11:24 IST
Australia’s oldest scientist, who caused a stir when his university tried to vacate his office aged 102, will fly to
Switzerland in early May to end his life, reigniting a national euthanasia debate. David Goodall, who is now
104, does not have a terminal illness but his quality of life has deteriorated and he has secured a fast-track
appointment with an assisted dying agency in Basel, euthanasia advocates said. “I greatly regret having
reached that age,” the ecologist told broadcaster ABC on his birthday earlier this month. “I’m not happy. I
want to die. It’s not sad particularly. What is sad is if one is prevented. My feeling is that an old person like
me should have full citizenship rights including the right of assisted suicide,” he added. Assisted suicide is
illegal in most countries around the world and was banned in Australia until the state of Victoria became the
first to legalize the practice last year. But that legislation, which takes effect from June 2019, only applies to
terminally ill patients of sound mind and a life expectancy of less than six months. Other states in Australia
have debated euthanasia in the past, but the proposals have always been defeated, most recently in New
South Wales state last year. Exit International, which is helping Goodall make the trip, said it was unjust that
one of Australia’s “oldest and most prominent citizens should be forced to travel to the other side of the
world to die with dignity”. “A peaceful, dignified death is the entitlement of all who want it. And a person
should not be forced to leave home to achieve it,” it said on its website Monday. The group has launched a
GoFundMe campaign to get plane tickets for Goodall and his helper upgraded to business class from
economy and has so far raised more than Aus$17,000 (US$13,000). Goodall, an honorary research associate
at Perth’s Edith Cowan University, made international headlines in 2016 when he was declared unfit to be on
campus. After an uproar and support from scientists globally, the decision was reversed. He has produced
dozens of research papers and until recently continued to review and edit for different ecology journals.
 World Poverty

Most of the city’s poor are migrants — they constitute about 33% of
the population of Delhi — who come to the city attracted by the
promise of a secure livelihood and better life. But their hopes and
dreams are, more often than not, belied.
“When I first came here 10 years back, I was young and energetic and
thought Delhi is a big city and I would be able to make something of
myself, but look where I have ended up,” says Prem Chand, a casual
labourer at Bara Tooti, one of the city’s oldest labour chowks, in the
heart of the city. “All I own are the clothes I am wearing; I sleep on the
footpath; and I have no one to share my pain with.” Prem Chand’s story
illustrates that poverty does not just engender a myriad deprivations,
but also a stifling solitude. Just talk to the men of Bara Tooti, which is
like an open-air museum of shattered dreams and defeated aspirations
of the poor.
 Continued (2 of 2)
Mohammad Abbas, a rickshaw puller, says the biggest
disadvantages poverty causes is that it ‘deprives people of
opportunities’. “I wanted to study, but could not. I could not send
my children to school beyond class 6. So, people like me need
some superhuman effort or extraordinary luck to break free from
the vicious cycle of poverty,” he says. “Many young poor people
come to the capital thinking they can work hard and strive for
success, but end up just struggling for survival. And Delhi can be
shockingly indifferent to them.” Poverty, he adds, can also
redefine the meaning of relationships. “My family lives in the
village. In 42 years of my marriage, I have not lived with my wife
for 42 months, and that is the biggest regret of my life.”
Thank you.