Philosophy Voluntary Euthanasia Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Philosophy Voluntary Euthanasia - Term Paper Example â€Å"It’s not life. I’m already dead† said 43 year old Diane Pretty, the mother of two who wanted assistance to die (Barclay, 2002). Diane Pretty was suffering from motor neuron disease and her ‘life expectancy’ as identified by the doctor was â€Å"very poor†. (Verkaik, 2002) She wanted a dignified death for herself. Owing to the distressful life she was leading where her words could only be interpreted as grunts, she along with her husband filed a petition in the court to prevent Brian, her husband from any prosecution if he assisted her in committing suicide. Julie, the mother of Dianne even wanted her to have a peaceful death said, â€Å"I have watched everything go and now I am hoping she will have a peaceful death. You know I’d like someone to give her a pill or an injection† (Barclay, 2002). The court did not provide Brian with immunity and the illness took its expected course resulting Diane Pretty’s death in the hospital under the conditions, which she had wanted to avoid (Tulloch, 2005, p.89). On the moral grounds the result against the petition was a disrespect shown to the individual autonomy of a rational human being and against her free will. Free will and voluntary euthanasia The free will of Dianne was questionable under the ethics of philosophy whether such an action taken by her would justify her on the moral grounds. Considering some of the major characteristics which have been attributed to the almighty by different religions come down to one notion that is the omnipresent of God and that the Almighty has no limit. If that is true then God possesses the knowledge about human actions and the almighty governs the thoughts of individual hence the decision taken by human beings are always guided by the will of the almighty. The free will of a human being must be respected and her autonomy to take decisions must be honored. (Waller, 2008, p.197) Thus on the moral and ethical ground it can be argued that the willingness to die expressed by Dianne to avoid the death of indignity and the distressful condition which she was going through can be justified. Voluntary Euthanasia and Utilitarianism The utilitarian approach specifies that the act like stealing which is termed as immoral is not essentially right or wrong, they are of the opinion that the rightness and the wrongness of any action depend upon the non normal goods like pleasure or happiness or health or knowledge or satisfaction which is derived while being in the action. Hence arguing whether the act is right or wrong is not easy; sometimes the simplest act has the most complicated outcomes. (Waller, 2008, p.52) The utilitarian rules examine the possible regulations on the basis of the expected utility. Euthanasia, also termed as mercy killing, which is an act that involves the intentional killing of an individual who is entirely dependent upon other for the life support and facing a life of distress. In th e case of Dianne Pretty the 43-year woman who was totally dependent on others for her life support the act of her to have a dignified death cannot be taken as against the ethics. The issue is that of a voluntary euthanasia, which is carried out as the person, himself or herself requests for it. The utilitarian approach focuses on the utility that an individual derives from an act. The Hedonistic utilitarian argues in the favor of the voluntary euthanasia. Voluntary euthanasia arises from a critical situation where the person’s existence in pain brings more suffering for the person herself and the people watching her in that situation. In such a situation where the very existence of the person brings distress and anguish for himself or herself, voluntary euthanasia is justified. (Telfer, n. d) Peter Singer being a utilitarian himself argues that if the future life of the human being who wants to take the aid of euthanasia to end her life has more negative impacts than the posi tive impacts then killing can be justified than