PP217 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Assisted Suicide
•
Euthanasia: is deliberately taking the life of a person who is suffering in a
terminal or incurable way in order to promote their own good
There are three cases, depending on consent
Voluntary- sick person requests to be killed
A)
Non-voluntary- sick person is unable to express a preference
(decision is made by others)
B)
Involuntary- sick person wants to be alive, but their preference is
overridden (only theoretical)
C)
•
Passive euthanasia: treatment of life sustaining assistance is withdrawn
or withheld so that death is hastened
•
Legal landscape in Canada and beyond
Feb 2015, Carter v Canada- supreme court ruled to legalize physician -
assisted death
•
The law regards passive voluntary and non-voluntary euthanasia as legal
(not viewed as killing)
•
Other countries that allow this: the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland,
and Luxemborg, and states; California, Vermont, Washington, Oregon,
and Colorado
•
Futility
Truog's overall message- rather than relying on definitions to do our
moral work for us, we should face up to the real moral difficulties
•
Notion of 'futility' is value-laden, and based on assumptions about how
much uncertainty is acceptable
•
Medical judgements of futility is a form of paternalism
•
Statistical uncertainty- judgements of futility involve predictions
•
Case of Mrs. Jones
81 year old woman whose health has deteriorated, now requires a
respirator
○
Semi-conscious state and cannot provide informed consent
○
Mrs. Jones's son says she wanted to return to Jamaica before dying
○
Doctors don’t think they can keep her alive long enough for her to
return to Jamaica, see their actions as futile
○
1.
John
26 year old man afflicted with a neurological disease known as
'elephant mans disease'
○
He demands no more surgery, and to be removed from the
respirator
○
Believes further treatment would be futile, as they can't give him
the quality of life he wants
○
2.
Killing vs letting die
○In Mrs. Jones' case, they would issue a DNR, and they would be
letting her die
○In John's case, they would be killing him (passive voluntary
euthanasia)
3.
Definitions-Module B
Saturday, June 30, 2018
9:52 AM
Document Summary
9:52 am: euthanasia: is deliberately taking the life of a person who is suffering in a terminal or incurable way in order to promote their own good. Non-voluntary- sick person is unable to express a preference (decision is made by others) Involuntary- sick person wants to be alive, but their preference is overridden (only theoretical) Passive euthanasia: treatment of life sustaining assistance is withdrawn or withheld so that death is hastened. Feb 2015, carter v canada- supreme court ruled to legalize physician - assisted death. The law regards passive voluntary and non-voluntary euthanasia as legal (not viewed as killing) Other countries that allow this: the netherlands, belgium, switzerland, and luxemborg, and states; california, vermont, washington, oregon, and colorado. Truog"s overall message- rather than relying on definitions to do our moral work for us, we should face up to the real moral difficulties. Notion of "futility" is value-laden, and based on assumptions about how much uncertainty is acceptable.
