Utilitarianism and the Case for Euthanasia

Unitarianism and the Case for Euthanasia

One of greatest moral issues facing society today is that of freedom. Freedom is a principle that this country was founded on at the start of its inception. Freedom is still a cause that requires our attention. The great debate on simple liberties such as the right to decide what happens to one’s body is still an issue that society has failed to resolve. It is a moral quandary that will continue to be discussed and a deliberated on as long as humankind are free moral agents with personal moral preferences. The question is do we allow our personal preferences to impede the decisions of other individuals? If we have the right to have our set of moral preferences do, other individuals deserve that same entitlement?

One area of moral dilemma that requires our attention is regarding euthanasia. Euthanasia is the practice of ending life in order to relieve pain or suffering caused by a terminal illness. Euthanasia can further be divided into two subcategories active euthanasia and passive euthanasia. Active euthanasia is the process of deliberately causing a person’s death. In passive euthanasia a person does not take any action and just allows the person to die. In many countries, the thought of euthanasia is morally detestable. However, many doctors find nothing wrong with allowing a terminally ill patient to decide to refuse medication. This decision is a form of passive euthanasia the doctor did not actively cause the patient’s death, but he did nothing to prevent the patient’s death. Failing to act and directly acting is not the same as not being responsible for the consequences of an event.

Furthermore, passive euthanasia does not morally excuse one from any moral obligations any more tha...

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...with as we see fit. To kill oneself, or to get someone else to do it for us, is to deny God, and to deny God's rights over our lives and his right to choose the length of our lives and the way our lives end”. ("BBC - Ethics - Introduction to ethics: Euthanasia.") Taking one’s life would equate to playing God. The right to decide whether you live or not does not belong to humans. God created humans and therefore taking one’s life is tantamount to playing God.

Works Cited

"BBC - Ethics - Introduction to ethics: Subjectivism." BBC - Homepage. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Mar. 2014.

Rachels, Jame. "Active and Passive Euthanasia." New England Journal of Medicine 292 (1975): 78-80. Print.

"Utilitarian Philosophy." Utilitarian Philosophy. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Mar. 2014.

"Utilitarianism by John Stuart Mill." Utilitarianism : past, present and future. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Mar. 2014.