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Certainly in nature, one who was too ill to move would not last long. They would certainly not be placed on a feeding tube, having a machine breathing for them, mechanical devices doing all but forcing their heart to beat. Does having the power to extend life mean that physicians then have a duty to do so? According to Lachs, "Medicine does not surrender its vocation in serving the desires of individuals: since health and continued life are among our primary wishes, its career consists in just this service." If the primary duty of a physician is to honor their patient's wishes for health, then if a patient desires death as an end to suffering, that physician does not have a duty to prolong that patient's life. Rather, prolonging life against the wishes of the patient breaches the duty of the profession.
Why, then, do physicians continue to take incredible measures to prolong the life of those who wish to die? What would happen if we were to legalize euthanasia? Critics of euthanasia state that decriminalizing euthanasia would lead us down a slippery slope; that this would lead to the mass killing of all those deemed too poor, or too disagreeable, to warrant continued life-saving measures. These critics paint pictures of "Little Johnnies" in hospital rooms across America encouraging their grandmas to pull the plug or take the nice injection the doctor is offering, so that they can stop being such burdens. Is this criticism supported by evidence in areas where euthanasia is legal? No. According to Peter Singer, "The outcomes of open practice of voluntary euthanasia in the Netherlands, and of physician-assisted suicide in Oregon, do not, however, support that allowing...
When a person can no longer take actions to further life, to life their life in comfort, when their only reality is more pain, their final act of autonomy and self-actualization may well be choosing to end it. Forcing a patient to live on in pain and anguish against their wishes is reprehensible when they could find surcease of their pain. If the patient is unable to carry out their final act of self, physicians should be free to help them achieve their final wish.
Works Cited
"Ethics." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 19 March 2011.
The Hippocratic Oath; Modern Version. PBS.com. 19 March 2011.
Lach, John. "When Abstract Moralizing Runs Amok." (please insert the book information, as it was not on the pages sent)
Singer, Peter. "Voluntary Euthanasia: A Utilitarian Perspective." (see note, above)
Works Cited
"Ethics." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 19 March 2011.
The Hippocratic Oath; Modern Version. PBS.com. 19 March 2011.
Lach, John. "When Abstract Moralizing Runs Amok." (please insert the book information, as it was not on the pages sent)
Singer, Peter. "Voluntary Euthanasia: A Utilitarian Perspective." (see note, above)
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