Ethics Of Euthanasia

Euthanasia is “a concept used in the medical field which means easy death or gentle death, and is defined as the deliberate speeding up of the death of an individual based on terminal medical conditions” (Jonsen, et al. 2015). Euthanasia reflects one of the current debate issues health professionals encounter when caring for the end of life patients who are choosing between speeding up their death or living the rest of their life in pain. In the fields of laws and regulations related to human health there is still a controversy over the concept of a peaceful death. This ethical dilemma has health care providers making a decision to choose between two difficult options and are obligated to use moral reasoning to solve these legal and ethical

When looking at euthanasia, it is important to remove associated emotions that are involved, deontology allows us to do so. The “action is based on whether or not the action itself is wrong under a series of rules, rather than based on the consequences of the actions” (Webster’s, 2014). The ability to act morally, one must follow one's moral duties (Mackinnon, et al. 2014). Patient centered deontology is specific to euthanasia as it is dependent upon patient's consent. Jim desires the removal of the ventilator to avoid pain and discomfort. Although Kant would believe that euthanasia is morally impermissible, autonomy is used for arguing that euthanasia is morally permissible when the patient has consented. No one forced Jim into this decision, he exercised his rights to acting as a free rational being. Jim is acting on voluntary active euthanasia, he is giving consent and has acknowledged all the legal implications. Refusal of a patient's wishes would deprecate a patient’s autonomy by impeding them from acting as an end in themselves as well as belittling them as a

There are multiple factors correlated with each individual case. An individual with a terminal illness with no cure should be able to consent to the ability to end their life on their own means. “Patient centered deontology is the best ethical framework for evaluating the moral permissibility of euthanasia. It allows Patient autonomy and making judgments based on the act and agent themselves rather than the consequences” (Nathan, 2015). There is no difference in active and passive euthanasia, they are morally permissible, and that the distinction between active and passive euthanasia, in itself, actually diminishes the autonomy of the patient because this deems the agent as external in contrast to the patient acting as the