PHI 2396 Lecture 5: Objections against Physician Assisted Suicide and Replies to Objections
12 Feb 2019
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Objections against physician assisted suicide and replies to objections. Suicide, euthanasia and murder-with-consent are seen to devalue human life. When assisted suicide is presented as a means of taking control or acting with dignity, all canadians including the young and fit may view suicide as an easy and acceptable response to life"s problems. When the sanctity of life is displaced by a culture of respectable voluntary death, attitudes will eventually disrupt the personal autonomy of the living. Euthanasia involves a clash of two important values: respect for individual autonomy and respect for life. Pro euthanasia advocates give priority to autonomy; anti-euthanasia proponents to respect for life. Somerville completely misrepresents physician assisted suicide (pas) in this quotation. It does not involve any clash between the value of personal autonomy and respect for life, for the simple reason that there is nothing about the practice of assisted suicide that undermines or weakens respect for human life.
