Kant And Euthanasia

Euthanasia and Ethics The philosophical theories and ethics of two philosophers, Aristotle and Kant, offer two differing views on the morality of euthanasia. Margaret P. Battin’s “Euthanasia: The Way We Do It, the Way They Do It” offers three countries’ perspectives on and laws regarding euthanasia and/or physician assisted suicide, as well as evaluations and critiques of their policies. To determine which of these points of view has the most pertinence, all of these arguments will be outlined and consequently analyzed, both separately and in relation to each other. Their differences and similarities will be enumerated and described, consequently their merit will be discussed. Ultimately, Aristotle’s moral theory centering around eudaimonia will be shown to be superior to Kant’s categorical imperative, because of its flexible nature when evaluating the acceptability of euthanasia under different circumstances.

Voluntary active euthanasia should be legalized in the state of Colorado. Euthanasia is argued to be defined as depriving of life or causing the death of a living being. A primary and controversial component to euthanasia is the idea that the physicians are acting in “God” like form. Christians are

People, are incensed because in Muslim beliefs one is not allowed to commit suicide, which also applies to Christianity. (Source I). Several Journalists have also stated against euthanasia because they believe that life is truthfully sanctified and that “God” created life, so one cannot choose to die. (Source A). The Hippocratic oath as well specifically reads that doctors or physicians are not sanctioned to kill patients. (Source M). Even though many people are against euthanasia the citizens still want options for the end of their own life. (Source C). If the alternatives are inadequate and regulated the agony of the patients does not go away; numerous places have already legalized euthanasia, such as the Netherlands in 2002 being the first. Similarly, Japan’s Shintoists believe that people and patients should be sanctioned to die if they request for it. (Source C). In the Netherlands, 85 percent of the doctors will and can also consider facilitating patients and people in death. (Source B). Even though the Hippocratic oath states that doctors are not to kill their patients, there are two main forms of euthanasia- passive and active. (Source C). The two central forms of euthanasia do not go against regulations because subsequently those doctors have to be in accordance with the patients and people. (Source C).

Albert Camus once quoted, “But in the end, one needs more courage to live than to kill them self.” Today I will be discussing the topic of Euthanasia also known as “assisted suicide.” The word originated from the Greeks, meaning “good death”. Euthanasia refers to the ending of one’s life, primarily to end suffering and pain. Euthanasia is a controversial topic and generates many political and religious debates. Although euthanasia is illegal in Canada, in some jurisdictions such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and the American states of Washington, Oregon and Montana, euthanasia is a legal and common practice.

Only God should choose when a human life ends, so committing an act of euthanasia or assisting in suicide is acting against the will of God and is sinful. Many members of the Christian, Jewish and Islamic faiths share this belief. The issue is more complex in Hinduism and Buddhism. Academics from both faiths have argued that euthanasia and assisted suicide are ethically acceptable acts in some circumstances, but these views do not have universal support among Hindus and Buddhists. Some non-religious people may also have similar beliefs based on the view that permitting euthanasia and assisted suicide devalues life.

Many religions such as Protestantism, Buddhism, and Catholic go against Suicide in any form as well as some other religions. While this may be true, it goes against the constitution to entrust a religion on anybody. This being the case, Euthanasia patients should have the right to decide this. They should not be limited to other people’s beliefs. In the first amendment of the constitution, it prohibits the government from “encouraging or promot[ing]… religion in any way” ( ACLU 6). Exempting patients from Euthanasia because of religion is a form of discrimination amongst them. Religion should not take away the right to perform

Euthanasia is considered inhumane to a huge amount of people. Many people believe that the patients are not in the right mind to make that decision. The patient could be depressed or they do not know how to cope with the struggles in their life and that is why they turn to euthanasia. Many people believe that euthanasia is messing with fate because it is an assisted suicide. A patient should not have that much of power or that much control of their life. In religions Christianity and Islam believe that

Euthanasia is a popular debate among our society today. It raises major concerns in terms of morals and ethics. Some may argue that euthanasia is morally wrong, while others think as human beings; we have the right to self-determination and should be able to choose our own fate.

3. Voluntary Euthanasia The reason it goes against a lot of religions is because they believe that we are not God, and only he knows how many days we are to live. For example, in the Christian faith the bible says in Exodus 20:13, “Thou shalt not kill.” and that is one of the big rules not to break. Euthanasia is intentionally the ending of someone’s life i.e. killing them. In Hinduisms, it is against religion because they believe that it is unnatural and will damage the karma of the patient and the doctor. it can be done for the wrong reason and have negative effects on the family, and who is going to control

“Euthanasia is a cowardly death.” According to a ancient Greek Philosopher, Aristotle. Just like today, the ancient greeks tried to use euthanasia to end pain and suffering. Euthanasia is the painless killing of patients, induced by drug overdoses or lack of treatment(“Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide”). Euthanasia is considered assisted suicide and assisted suicide is illegal, so euthanasia should be illegal. Christians strongly believe that suicide and euthanasia is against the Ten Commandments, and is morally wrong. Also a type of euthanasia is considered murder known as Involuntary euthanasia.The topic of euthanasia is argued because the different beliefs of people. People that favorite euthanasia believe it is mercy killing and it puts

The acceptance of assisted suicide is a religious decision which research proves does interfere with the decision people decide about euthanasia. “The majority of the articles identified support the hypothesis that nurses’ attitudes towards euthanasia and physician assisted suicide are influenced by religion and worldviews.”( Gielen, 315) However, there is a misconception that everyone who is of a certain faith believe exactly what the church wants them to think. According to the article “Religion And Nurses’ Attitudes To Euthanasia And Physician Assisted Suicide”, Non-believers, Jewish, and Asian countries religious views are in favor of Euthanasia; However, Christians, catholics, and roman catholic were strongly against it.

The deliberate act of ending another 's life, given his or her consent, is formally referred to as euthanasia. At present, euthanasia is one of the most controversial social-ethical issues that we face, in that it deals with a sensitive subject matter where there is much uncertainty as to what position one ought to take. Deliberately killing another person is presumed by most rational people as a fundamental evil act. However, when that person gives his or her consent to do so, this seems to give rise to an exceptional case. This can be illustrated in the most common case of euthanasia, where the person who is willing to die suffers from an illness that causes great pain, and will result in his or her demise in the not-so-distant future.

Christians are mostly against euthanasia. The arguments are usually based on the beliefs that life is given by God, and that human beings are made in God's image this is told to us in Genesis 1:27 “So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them”. As Christians our laws are based upon the 10 commandments, the 6th commandment is” thou shalt not kill” this commandment is connected to Euthanasia because you are killing a child before they have had the chance to experience life. John. Paul II view on Euthanasia is “Euthanasia is a grave violation of the law of God, since it is the deliberate and morally unacceptable killing of a human person.”

Moreover, euthanasia is restricted by the church. This is another important point that we should consider, especially for religious people. According to “Death and Dignity” it is emphasized that “Life is a gift from God and it is only God who can take it back”. Christian’s point of view considers euthanasia as a crime against church, religion and God. Christians consider this as an immoral act. When considering the religious factor as well, we can conclude that no one has the right to take control over our lives, especially when we are unconscious.

The term Euthanasia is derived from the Greek words, Eu (good) and Thanatosis (death) meaning a very gentle and easy death. The definition of euthanasia has now come down to “the act or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals (as persons or domestic animals) in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy.” Therefore, this term can be also called “mercy killing”. In this sense euthanasia means the active or inactive death of a patient. This form of “easy death” for hopeless and suffering patients has been around since ancient ages as, Mesopotamia strictly forbade euthanasia following the sixth commandment “thou shall not kill”, India practiced it by drowning incurable patients in the Ganges