Sanctity

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Sanctity Sanctity means sacred. Sanctity of life means that life is given by God and therefore cannot or should not be taken by people. It is up to God when people are born and when they die. If something is 'sanctified' it is considered holy or blessed by God. ABORTION, EUTHANASIA, AND THE VALUE OF HUMAN LIFE A number of ethical questions cluster around both ends of the human life span. Whether abortion is morally justifiable has popularly been seen as depending on our answer to the question "When does a human life begin?" Many philosophers believe this to be the wrong question to ask because it suggests that there might be a factual answer that we can somehow discover through advances in science. Instead, these philosophers think we need to ask what it is that makes killing a human being wrong and then consider whether these characteristics, whatever they might be, apply to the fetus in an abortion. There is no generally agreed upon answer, yet some philosophers have presented surprisingly strong arguments to the effect that not only the fetus but even the newborn infant has no right to life. This position has been defended by Jonathan Glover in Causing Death and Saving Lives (1977) and in more detail by Michael Tooley in Abortion and Infanticide (1984). Such views have been hotly contested, especially by those who claim that all human life, irrespective of its characteristics, must be regarded as sacrosanct. The task for those who defend the sanctity of human life is to explain why human life, no matter what its characteristics, is specially worthy of protection. Explanation could no doubt be provided in terms of such... ... middle of paper ... .... The society's bill was defeated in the House of Lords in 1936, and so also was a motion on the same subject in the House of Lords in 1950. In the United States, the Euthanasia Society of America was founded in 1938. The potential of modern medical practice to prolong life through technological means has provoked the question of what must be decided by the physician and the family in cases of extreme physical or emotional suffering, especially if the patient is incapable of choice. Passively doing nothing to prolong life or withdrawing life-support measures has resulted in criminal charges being brought against physicians; on the other hand, the families of comatose and apparently terminal patients have instituted legal action against the medical establishment to make them stop the use of extraordinary life support.

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