Euthanasia and the right to choose Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Euthanasia and the right to choose - Essay Example Conservative people, although they use individual rights as part of their principles, do not believe in the right to die, seeing life as too valuable. On the contrary, liberal people typically see the right to die as a matter of personal choice and a good option for those who do not desire to continue living. Of course, to talk about these applied ethical issues, one needs a grasp of underlying normative ethical theories (asking â€Å"what is good?† in general), instead of relying solely on an intuitive grasp of what is good in this particular situation. There are a number of perspectives to consider in the issue of assisted suicide; from each of these viewpoints, assisted suicide is a moral practice that ought to be upheld. The discussion of assisted suicide is divided between those in favor, those opposed, and those with some position in between. For the purposes of this essay, the only answers to the question of assisted suicide’s ethical foundation are â€Å"ethica l† and â€Å"unethical†. Those who believe assisted suicide is ethical tend to believe that the practice, if put into law, is not morally problematic and that it should be allowed to occur. Likewise, those who believe the opposite tend to believe that if any case of assisted suicide is allowed, dire circumstances will result. ... rk is the duty every human being has to not kill another human being; this means that no matter what the circumstances are, or the consequences, it is immoral to kill another person. Because this duty is universal and non-conditional, it is quite clear in its application to the issue of assisted suicide. A different moral theory, which is quite different from deontology, is utilitarianism. â€Å"Utilitarians take a rather different perspective†¦ their rules are based on some calculation of the consequences of decisions or actions† (Feinberg and Feinberg 185). In other words, it is only the consequences of the action that matter, not the duty one has to another person. Under this theory, if a suffering person requests assistance in their suicide, then the moral action is to help him kill himself, since that action would ease that person’s suffering and thus lead to the greatest good. If one accepts the utilitarian view of ethics as the truth, the argument for assist ed suicide is quite clear. Since assisted suicide is a very situational, or circumstantial, issue (that is, the conditions and diagnoses of doctors are often unclear), it does not make sense for a deontologist to cite a moral rule that applies in all situations, when that theories has no knowledge of the variety of different situations other people have to live with. Because the utilitarian can evaluate cases of assisted suicide on a case-by-case basis, without calling the practice immoral in itself, he or she has more freedom to address the issue fairly. The applied ethics debate over euthanasia is typically framed around the normative claim of its permissibility, which is then followed by objections and responses launched from those who find it to be a morally reprehensible act. Nevertheless, we are faced