PHIL 246 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Fetus, Gust Co. Ltd., James Rachels
Document Summary
Bio-ethics lecture notes (exam two: oregon death with dignity law , two physicians must certify that the patient is. Thesis: active euthanasia is permissible under conditions when passive euthanasia is permissible and the patient requests passive euthanasia. Ama allows passive but not active euthanasia b/c intentional termination of life is contrary to everything medicine stands for . There is no difference between killing and letting someone die. The humanitarianism thought that justifies vpe also justifies vae b/c allowing patient to die painfully and slowly violates the medical virtue of beneficence. By respecting a persons autonomy enough to allow vpe we should also respect it enough to implement vae. What makes euthanasia right or wrong is the motive behind the killing: when self-determination runs amok: (daniel callahan) Thesis: vae is not permissible/ even when requested under terms of informed consent. Euthanasia would add a whole new dimension of killing to a society that already has too many.
