Rachels Arguments Against Active Euthanasia

Improved Essays
“Rachels and Brock” Rachels thesis is active euthanasia is morally permissible under conditions when passive euthanasia is morally permissble and the patient wants active euthanasia. Rachels argue there is not a difference between killing someone or letting one die( Rachels pg 649). Rachels makes reference to patients with terminal illness. Once treatment is no longer allievate pain, the patient and family is requesting help because of the suffering. Rachels introduce another point the Conventional Doctrine makes decisions concerning life or death on irrelevant grounds( Rachels pg. 650). To elaborate, two babies were born with congential defects but the second baby has down syndrome. Both babies can have simple surgeries to correct the …show more content…
His thesis is active euthanasia is not morally permissible even when requested under the terms of informed consent. Callahan also believes euthanasia would add a whole new category of killing to a society that already has too many excuses to indulge itself in that way. Callahan feels in western thought there is three important turning points (Callahan pg 625). The first point is the laws that will give permission to one person to kill another. He terms this “consenting adult killing” (Callahan pg. 625). Callahan argues that this issue contradicts the government is trying to control guns and arms, abolish capital punishment, and to control warfare. The second point is in the meaning of “consenting adult killing” and decreases self-determination. Callahan feels that the law misleads the patient to feel they have autonomy thinking that the active euthanasia will help them reach the good life. The third point put pressure of the medical professional to achieve what the patient thinks is the good life. This point makes a patient think, escaping from personal life that is causing suffering instead of the pain from the sick of the body. Callahan feels that active euthanasia has no justifiable reason on why it would be right to legalize killing one another. Callahan objects to Rachels and Brock’s arguments for euthanasia. Rachels argument the value of self-determination justifies a right to voluntary active euthanasia.Callahan replies competent adults cannot consent to all things. Voluntary active euthanasia involves two parties the killer and the victim (Callahan pg. 626). The physician has to consent to killing the patient and patient has to consent to let the physician kill him. Callahan poses a question why would anyone consent to being the victim? Callahan writes, “consenting to adult killing, like consenting to adult slavery, or degradation, is a strange route to human dignity.” Rachels argues there is no

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Should Euthanasia be banned? The topic of euthanasia arouses much ethical debate and controversy. Euthanasia is the termination of a person’s life to end their suffering, usually through the injection of drugs. Debates about the ethics of euthanasia and medical assisted suicide date from ancient Greece and Rome.…

    • 2032 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In James Rachel’s “Active and Passive Euthanasia,” he specifically argues, “that the traditional distinction between killing and letting die is untenable” (Rachels, 1975, p. 678). Rachels believes killing is not any worse than letting someone die. Therefore, passive euthanasia is not better than active euthanasia. For legal reasons, physicians may have to differentiate the difference between passive and active euthanasia, but, “they should not give the distinction any added authority and weight by writing it into official statement of medical ethics,” (Rachels, 1975, p.678). Active euthanasia is defined as killing the person directly.…

    • 980 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    Timothée Guichoux Contemporary Moral Issues Essay#1-Question 3 Opposing Brock and Velleman on the moral permissibility of a right to die Euthanasia, or the act of killing (active euthanasia), or permitting (passive euthanasia), the death of a patient, is a practice that goes back to Ancient Age and that was dealt by authors such as Socrates or Plato. However, the debate about the moral permissibility of such things as euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, in which the patient ends his/her life with drugs provided by a physician but self-administered, is still dividing moral thinkers. We will examine the arguments of texts by Dan Brock and David Velleman to answer the following question: How does our approach to the concept of dignity…

    • 1172 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the article, “Active and Passive Euthanasia” the author Rachels argues that both passive and active euthanasia are permitted. Active euthanasia is purely known as taking a positive action, which is designed to kill the patient who is incurably ill. Passive euthanasia, on the contrary, means easily holding back from doing anything to keep the patient alive. To further explain what Rachels suggests, he uses two cases as an example. First he gives the scenario of Smith who will inherit a large sum of money if his six year old nephew dies.…

    • 824 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Euthanasia is one of the most controversial topics and concerns in our society. It crosses many social, political, emotional and moral boundaries which is something many subjects cannot do all at once. This paper is meant to show my personal view on this controversial subject. Margaret Battin’s article ‘Euthanasia: The Fundamental Issues,’ discusses three moral principles that are typically used to argue for the legalization of euthanasia as a regulated practice. These three principles are; the Principle of Mercy, the Principle of (patient) Autonomy, and the Principle of Justice.…

    • 1597 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The article that I am writing about is called “Active and Passive Euthanasia” by James Rachels. The author discusses the distinction between active and passive euthanasia in relation to moral issues. Rachels identifies “conventional doctrine” and that there is an important moral difference between the two that the doctrine allows passive euthanasia but does not allow active euthanasia. This doctrine may be challenged for several reasons. As a matter of first importance, the claim in many situations active euthanasia is more sympathetic than passive euthanasia.…

    • 1079 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In this essay, I will contend that Brock’s argument in favor of the moral permissibility of voluntary active euthanasia (VAE) is sound and that Brock offers persuasive responses to the objection that (A) VAE is an act which involves the deliberate killing of an innocent person and (B) the deliberate killing of an innocent person is always morally wrong. To achieve this, I will begin by summarizing Brock’s argument for the moral permissibility of VAE. Then, I will synthesize the objection to Brock’s argument and Brock’s subsequent responses. Finally, I will describe why I find Brock’s responses persuasive. Brock’s argument for the moral permissibility of VAE can be constructed as follows: (1) VAE is supported by the “values of patient well-being…

    • 1499 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In 1975, published in New England Journal of Medicine, Rachels wrote an essay discussing the ethics and moral permissibility behind euthanasia titled “Active and Passive Euthanasia”. In this essay, Rachel 's begins by giving his own definition of passive euthanasia saying that it is taking the action of ending or withholding the necessary medical actions to keep someone alive who is otherwise going to die without it. Rachel 's continues by saying that active euthanasia is taking direct action to end the life of someone who is going to die regardless of medical treatment. Rachel 's then links these definition to what he believed was the standard view on euthanasia and cites statements endorsed by the American Medical Association (also known as the AMA). Rachel 's interprets the statement by the American Medical Association which was endorsed by the house of delegates in december of 1973 as “accepted by most doctors”.…

    • 1667 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    It is clear that the utmost importance in any medical context is the relationship between the healthcare practitioner and the patient. The duty of a physician is to adhere to certain principles of medical ethics namely the principles of respect for autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice. By examining the case study involving Dr. Nancy Morrison, one can observe that these principles are often ambiguous when referring to the issue of whether she committed voluntary active euthanasia or nonvoluntary active euthanasia. Thus, the thesis will aim to exemplify that ultimately Dr. Nancy Morrison was culpable for her actions. To give some context to the issue, Paul Mills was a 65-year-old individual suffering from terminal esophageal cancer.…

    • 1467 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Active euthanasia is when direct action is taken, ending the life of the patient. I chose to focus my paper on the article entitled “Voluntary Active Euthanasia” written by Dan W. Brock. In "Voluntary Active Euthanasia", Brock analyzes the arguments for and against the legalization of active euthanasia. From his perspective, an individual’s well-being and control over…

    • 1537 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Active euthanasia allows doctors to do this in a humane way. After all passive and active euthanasia has the same outcome in the end, one just allows the patient peace quicker. People are just used to hearing killing is worse than dying because of how the media portrays both: “Most actual cases of killing are clearly terrible On the other hand, one hardly ever hears of a case of letting die, except for the actions of doctors who are motivated by humanitarian reasons. So one learns to think of killing in a much worse light than of letting die” (865). Rachel’s argument is effective because his example is strong and hard to dispute.…

    • 808 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In his essay, “ Active and Passive Euthanasia,” by James Rachel he makes the argument that there is nothing morally wrong with Passive Euthanasia that’s given to be acceptable. Passive Euthanasia letting someone die becoming permissible is an acceptance Rachel proves from the behalf standards of medical reasons. Medical reasons doctors can take out tubes, respirator, etc.. “Letting go” is a decision making doctors do for the patient to die having no pain of suffrage anymore. It’s not a consequence for causing a death on purpose, “ the matter of life and death is being decided on irrelevant grounds.” (Rachel, p.290).…

    • 720 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    To defeat this belief and undermine such closed minded views, I will raise an argument against active euthanasia in hopes to encourage doctors and other individuals to reconsider their current thoughts. Although, one might disagree with Rachels stance, I agree with his argument because there is no significant moral difference between passive and active euthanasia as the person will presume to be deceased after all. Thus, making his argument consistent and the doctrine, active euthanasia, just as justifiable and permissible as passive euthanasia. In some cases, it is permissible to withhold treatment and allow a patient to die, but it is never permissible to take any direct action intended to kill the patient. Not only is this view adopted by most doctors, but it is accepted in the American Medical Association statement: “…

    • 1094 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Rachel’s paper he wants his readers to reach the conclusion that “active euthanasia is sometimes morally permissible” (Rachels 266). In his paper he chooses to expand and revise a Utilitarian argument, but for this paper I am choosing to focus on his discussion of “the argument from mercy.” Rachels chooses to focus on one main point of the argument from mercy, “Terminally ill patients sometimes suffer pain so horrible that it is beyond the comprehension of those who have not actually experience it” (Rachels 267). This quote helps to point out that people who usually argue against active euthanasia are not usually people who have experienced a terminal illness and the possible pain that can accompany that.…

    • 1659 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Euthanasia is a debated topic among many ethical theories. Euthanasia has raised questions of what guidelines should be set, and who should be given the right to determine when such actions should be taken. I believe that euthanasia should only be used when it has been determined that any further treatment of a patient will not help or that the patient is not capable of sustaining life on their own. I do believe that a person who commits suicide is wrong. I believe that God has blessed everyone with a great life and we need to live every second to the fullest.…

    • 165 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays