Euthanasia And Utilitarianism: A Philosophical Approach

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Euthanasia and Utilitarianism: A Philosophical Approach
With today’s advancements in medicine and technology, many unforeseen issues arise that we are forced to deal with. Euthanasia is ‘the act or practice of ending a person’s life in order to release the person from an incurable disease, intolerable suffering, or undignified death’ (Beauchamp & Walters). These progressions in technology help people live when historically death was inevitable. If a person is ill, or severely injured, these new technologies give them a chance to survive, but they do not guarantee an enjoyable survival. This paper will discuss the ethical and moral issues regarding euthanasia according to utilitarianism. After examining both positive and negative sides of the issue I will contend that active euthanasia continue to subsist as an illegal act. An example of euthanasia in the past is Robert Litamer; a Saskatchewan farmer killed his twelve year old daughter who was severely disabled due to cerebral palsy. According to the laws and regulations in Canada this act is considered ‘active euthanasia’- aiding ones suicide - or essentially, murder. But to Robert Latimer, this act was done out of pure compassion for his daughter (Kondro). A utilitarian approach would grant that if the family agreed with Robert in his actions, that this act would be morally justifiable because it provides the greatest amount of happiness for the most amount of people. Robert felt as though his daughter would be happier if she was not suffering, and he could not stand to watch her continually suffer, decreasing pain and increasing happiness. Another case dealing with euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide with similar aspects, but different details, is the case of Sue Rodriguez. Rodriguez was diagnosed with terminal amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) (Milton). Wanting to live, but in fear of someday degenerating to the point where she was incapable of taking...