Explain the case for voluntary euthanasia.

Many ethical theories and in favour of this kind and believe it can be an ethical choice. In examining the reasons behind this, a good place to start is the Utilitarian view.

The basic principles of this theory seeks through, moral decisions, to bring the greatest amount of happiness to the greatest number of people. When seeking a solution to a moral dilemma you take into account the consequences and the potential consequences of this issue of euthanasia and decide on balance the action that is going to work to the advantage of all concerned. The idea of personal autonomy, personal freedom and power, is important in this modern age. For most society today the patient comes first. Though Utilitarians take this into account there are always cases where the wishes of the patients cannot be followed.

In medicine Utilitarianism plays a major part in decision making. Preference Utilitarianism is particularly important and this claims that when working out a solution the preferences of all the involved people, patient and family, should be taken onto account. When considering euthanasia Preference Utilitarianists would consider the advantages of life rather than death, both for the persons concerned and for the family. When considering this issue Utilitarianists think about quality of life as well as quantity of life. Milan Kundera wrote, “Dogs do not have many advantages over people, but one of them is extremely important: euthanasia is not forbidden by law in their case; animals have the right to a merciful death.”

Furthermore, situation ethics could be used to support voluntary euthanasia. Quite simply, you can dispense with rules about killing, because the most loving thing to do may well be to give someone a peaceful death. Situation Ethics is Personal - it puts people before rules. It is also Pragmatic, allowing us to do whatever works best in the circumstances. What is the use in keeping someone alive to suffer? Relativism is at the heart of the theory. This means that in any situation, when faced with a difficult decision about whether to help someone to die, we need to act out of love, which means ignoring any hard and fast rule and doing what the situation requires.

Situation Ethics isn't helpful when it comes to legislation, largely because the situation ethicist would ignore any rules that were made anyway if the situation demanded it. Situationists may well be worried that a law that allowed euthanasia might put pressure on people who didn't want to die. They might argue that there need to be great safeguards against the misuse of any euthanasia rules. However, they are likely to argue in favour of allowing euthanasia. A situation ethicist would probably say that, even if euthanasia was not allowed, it may well be right to break the law and help someone to die.

Peter Singer is an example of an ethicist that supports euthanasia. He argues in favour of voluntary euthanasia and some forms of non-voluntary euthanasia, including infanticide in certain instances, but opposes involuntary euthanasia. Singer has experienced the complexities of some of these questions in his own life. His mother had Alzheimer's disease. He said, "I think this has made me see how the issues of someone with these kinds of problems are really very difficult.” In an interview with Ronald Bailey, published in December 2000, he explained that his sister shares the responsibility of making decisions about his mother. He did say that, if he were solely responsible, his mother might not continue to live.

There are three main arguments in favour of voluntary euthanasia. Firstly, the autonomy argument, which argues that euthanasia is an issue of personal autonomy. Personal autonomy is the capacity to decide for oneself and pursue a course of action in one's life, often regardless of any particular moral content. It should be up to the individual to decide when they wish to die, and it should not be dictated by anyone else. John Stuart Mill commented, “over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign.” The second argument is the compassion argument, which is closely linked to both utilitarianism and situation ethics. This argues that we should allow the patient a dignified death and a release from their suffering. The final argument relates to public policy; if we make voluntary euthanasia legal, we will be able to control how it is performed.

Overall, euthanasia is an extremely sensitive issue and all sides of the argument should treat those involved with the upmost compassion and respect. To quote Pamela Bone, “I'm not afraid of being dead. I'm just afraid of what you might have to go through to get there.”