Would removing life support from an individual in a permanently vegetative state be morally wrong? Discuss with reference to: a) the sanctity of life and b) the doctrine of double effect.

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Chris Acton

Would removing life support from an individual in a permanently vegetative state be morally wrong? Discuss with reference to: a) the sanctity of life and   b) the doctrine of double effect.

Euthanasia, also known as mercy killing, has been strongly looked upon by many philosophers over a very long period of time, the word euthanasia means:

“The bringing about of a quiet and easy death for the sake of the individual.”

In simpler terms, subject ‘A’ kills subject ’B’ for the sake of subject ’B’.

Autonomy looks at whether or not we should have complete control of our death. Some religions also look into this:

There are many different views on whether or not euthanasia is acceptable and the Christian view of Euthanasia is that it is wrong. They understand the pain and emotional suffering, caused in the case of terminally ill, but believe that a hospice is a better solution and that to commit Euthanasia is murder and a degrading act upon human life. However a person who is terminally ill is not the same as a person in a PVS.

A person in a permanently vegetative state (PVS) has no knowledge of anything, not even themselves, and they never will have. This maybe painless, however we are in no position to assume that the person cannot hear or respond to anything at all. Some philosophers argue that the person is no longer a person and just a being with no moral status therefore euthanasia is acceptable, however others believe that the person has a right to life and should not be killed.

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There are six main types of euthanasia, which are:

Voluntary passive.                Voluntary means that the person has

Voluntary active.                asked for euthanasia.

Involuntary passive.        Involuntary means when a doctor believes

Involuntary active.        that the person requires euthanasia.

        

Non-voluntary passive.        Non-voluntary is when the person has no

        Non-voluntary active.        choice and is given it without any consent.

The two terms used throughout the six types of euthanasia are active and passive. Active means that something has to be done for the euthanasia to take place; an example could be a lethal injection. Passive however, means that the person could be ...

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