Euthanasia

3 Pages 644 Words

Euthanasia is the practice of painlessly putting to death persons who have incurable or painful diseases. The word euthanasia originated from the Greek language which when translated means: Eu- “Good” and Thanatos-“Death” and is commonly called mercy killing. A distinction is made between active and passive euthanasia. Active euthanasia is the deliberate killing of a terminally ill person for the purpose of ending the suffering of that person while passive euthanasia is defined as the withholding of life preserving procedures and treatments that would prolong the life of one who is incurably and terminally ill and couldn't survive without them. I will be presenting the claims and views on this issue made by James Rachels and Richard Doerflinger. I will conclude by stating my position on the issue of euthanasia based on the views presented by the two writers.
According to Rachels, the most common argument in support of euthanasia is one that we may call “the argument from mercy”. The argument from mercy says “euthanasia is justified because it puts an end to that” (Rachels p.175). Following his introduction, Rachels presents a supporting belief by adding a utilitarian view. He states several points about the Utilitarian view and is also careful to cover why it is not entirely viable when applied to euthanasia. He then goes on to state a modified utilitarian view of which he says is “sound and proves that active euthanasia can be justified”. He states that: (1) If an action promotes the best interests of everyone concerned and violates no one’s rights, then that action is morally acceptable. (2) In at least some cases, active euthanasia promotes the best interests of everyone concerned and violates no one’s rights (3) Therefore, in at least some cases, active euthanasia is morally acceptable.
Doerflinger’s argument stands in contrast to Rachels. The body of his argument addresses several issues surround...