The body as unwarranted life support: a new perspective on euthanasia

Shaw, D. (2007) The body as unwarranted life support: a new perspective on euthanasia. Journal of Medical Ethics, 33(9), pp. 519-521. (doi: 10.1136/jme.2006.020073)

Abstract

It is widely accepted in clinical ethics that removing a patient from a ventilator at the patient's request is ethically permissible. This constitutes voluntary passive euthanasia. However, voluntary active euthanasia, such as giving a patient a lethal overdose with the intention of ending that patient's life, is ethically proscribed, as is assisted suicide, such as providing a patient with lethal pills or a lethal infusion. Proponents of voluntary active euthanasia and assisted suicide have argued that the distinction between killing and letting die is flawed and that there is no real difference between actively ending someone's life and "merely" allowing them to die. This paper shows that, although this view is correct, there is even less of a distinction than is commonly acknowledged in the literature. It does so by suggesting a new perspective that more accurately reflects the moral features of end-of-life situations: if a patient is mentally competent and wants to die, his body itself constitutes unwarranted life support unfairly prolonging his or her mental life.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Shaw, Dr David
• Authors: Shaw, D.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Medicine, Dentistry & Nursing > Dental School
• Journal Name: Journal of Medical Ethics
• Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
• ISSN: 0306-6800
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2007 BMJ Publishing Group
• First Published: First published in Journal of Medical Ethics 33(9):519-521
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher

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