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Single Idea 20885

[filed under theme 25. Social Practice / F. Life Issues / 2. Euthanasia ]

Full Idea

Six types of euthanasia: 1) Active voluntary (knowing my wishes), 2) Active non-voluntary (not knowing my wishes), 3) Active involuntary (against my wishes), 4) Passive voluntary, 5) Passive non-voluntary, 6) Passive involuntary.

Gist of Idea

Euthanasia is active or passive, and voluntary, non-voluntary or involuntary

Source

Brad W. Hooker (Rule Utilitarianism and Euthanasia [1997], 5)

Book Ref

'Ethics in Practice (2nd Ed)', ed/tr. LaFollette,Hugh [Blackwell 2002], p.26


A Reaction

'Active' is intervening, and 'passive' is not intervening. A helpful framework.


The 11 ideas with the same theme [attitudes to mercy-killing for the very ill]:

In Utopia, legal euthanasia is considered honourable [More,T]
We only allow voluntary euthanasia to someone who is both sane and crazed by pain [Kamisar]
People will volunteer for euthanasia because they think other people want them dead [Kamisar]
The Nazi mass murders seem to have originated in their euthanasia programme [Glover]
Involuntary euthanasia is wrong because it violates autonomy, and it has appalling side-effects [Glover]
Euthanasia is voluntary (patient's wish), or involuntary (ignore wish), or non-voluntary (no wish possible) [Glover]
Maybe extreme treatment is not saving life, but prolonging the act of dying [Glover]
If it is desirable that a given patient die, then moral objections to killing them do not apply [Rachels]
It has become normal to consider passive euthanasia while condemning active euthanasia [Rachels]
Euthanasia may not involve killing, so it is 'killing or not saving, out of concern for that person' [Hooker,B]
Euthanasia is active or passive, and voluntary, non-voluntary or involuntary [Hooker,B]