PHL100Y1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: James Rachels, Euthanasia
Document Summary
The distinction between killing and letting die . Challenges the moral distinction between killing and letting die . Distinction appeals to the moral difference between acts and omissions : passive euthanasia respecting patient"s autonomy/informed decision, active euthanasia the act itself. There is a generally acknowledged moral distinction between active and passive euthanasia in medical ethics. The intentional termination of the life one human being by another mercy killing is contrary to that for which the medical profession stands and is contrary to the policy of the american medical association. The cessation of the employment of extraordinary means to prolong the life of the body when there is irrefutable evidence that biological death is imminent is the decision of the patient and/or his immediate family (216) Thesis: there is no morally significant distinction between killing and letting die. Responsible physicians should stop supporting (lending legitimacy to) policies that lend credence to it. First argument: appeal to the needless prolonging of suffering.
