HPS 0613 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Persistent Vegetative State, Assisted Suicide, Vaginal Cancer
24 Mar 2017
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Dr. jack kevorkia(cid:374)"s first assisted sui(cid:272)ide (cid:449)ith janet adkins. Janet had alzheimers, (cid:449)as (cid:374)ot ke(cid:448)orkia(cid:374)"s patie(cid:374)t, fou(cid:374)d out a(cid:271)out hi(cid:373) fro(cid:373) Active and passive euthanasia paper by rachels. Passive & active euthanasia no morally different. Goal is to prove that ama doctrine is unsound. Main argument: active euthanasia condemned b/c contrary to what medical profession stands for. Case of when to use passive euthanasia is variable. No moral difference in killing someone and letting someone die: smith & jones example, smith actively killed child by drowning him in bathtub. Jones watched child skip and knock himself unconscious in bathtub, leaving him to drown: omission is just as bad as commission. Passive euthanasia as a treatment is not the absence of a decision or action. Rachels does not argue whether active or passive is more morally just; simply questions the need of a distinction. In all 3 cases, keeping patients alive would not improve quality of life.
