Medical Ethics

Euthanasia

• Euthanasia is the assisted ending of someone's life who is suffering. It is not suicide.
• It is illegal in the Uk, but is legal in other places, such as the Netherlands.
• There are 2 main types of euthanasia:
• Voluntary = the person concerned asks someone to help them die, perhaps by asking for help to take an overdose of painkillers
• Involuntary = euthanasia is carried out without the patient’s consent, for example, if they are in a persistent vegetative state and no longer able to live without a lifesupport machine, which is then switched off
• Christians are usually against euthanasia, but there are exceptions.
• They may believe that:
• life is God-given
• birth and death are part of the life processes that God has created, therefore we should respect them
• God has chosen a path for all of us, and He has decided when we must die, so we should follow his plan
• no human has the authority to take another human's life
• human life is sacred because…