Exploring the Ethical Debate on Euthanasia and the Right to Die

The assignment examines the contentious topics of Euthanasia and the Right to Die within ethical philosophy, particularly through Utilitarianism and Kantian ethics. Different nations have varied legal stances on euthanasia, reflecting deep moral disagreements. Stakeholders include terminally ill patie...Read More

Running Head: PHILOSOPHY
PHILOSOPHY
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1PHILOSPHY
Introduction
It is to be mentioned that Euthanasia is the act of ending a person’s life voluntarily to
relieve the same from suffering (Chambaere et al., 2015). The Euthanasia laws of different
countries vary. It is to be mentioned that Euthanasia and assisted suicides are completely
different and are intended to be treated differently. A doctor giving a terminally ill patient an
overdose of a drug to relive the patient of his sufferings and end his life can constitute euthanasia
(Letwin et al., 2016). On the other hand if a terminally ill patient is given access to sedatives by
an acquaintance of the patient knowing the fact that the patient can overdose on the drug to
relieve himself from the suffering of his illness will constitute assisted suicide.
Euthanasia and the Right to Die
It can be noted that the main stakeholders of the right to die and Euthanasia are the ones
who suffer from terminal illness and those who suffer from mental trauma and depression. The
question of whether Euthanasia or the right of persons to voluntarily end their lives should be
legal and valid is subject to a lot of interpretation and is debatable. The legal provisions of
assisted suicide and Euthanasia are different (Emanuel, 2016). It is to be mentioned that Assisted
Suicide is illegal and is punishable by up to fourteen years of imprisonment according to the
Suicide Act(1961). However it is to be mentioned that act of ending a person’s life by himself
will not be considered to be a criminal act. It is to be mentioned that Euthanasia can be of two
types; voluntary euthanasia- where the consent of the individual willing to end his life is
obtained and involuntary Euthanasia – where the consent of the individual willing to end his life
is not obtained. It is to be stated while voluntary Euthanasia is legal in some countries,
involuntary Euthanasia is considered illegal in all countries.
The Right to die is concept which is based on the belief that individuals should have the
right to end their lives if they deem it necessary under voluntary Euthanasia (Somerville, 2014).
It is to be mentioned that the right of the individuals to end their lives is generally possessed by
the people who are suffering from terminal illness and who longer wish to endure the pain and
suffering. However it is to be mentioned that whether individuals should be empowered with the
right to die is subject to a lot of debate. It is to be mentioned that the main supporters of this
theory state that an individual’s body and life are his own and therefore the right to end his life is

2PHILOSPHY
also his decision. However, the legislation of different countries has different provisions
regarding the right to die and Euthanasia to prevent irrational suicides.
Utilitarianism Theory: Right to die
It is to be noted that Utilitarianism is the ethical theory which states that the actions of
individuals should be based on the utility (Albee, 2014). Thus to interpret this theory, it can be
stated that individuals should focus on which what derives maximum utility for them instead of
what is morally correct and upright. It is to be mentioned that Utilitarianism takes into account
the Utility of the actions of individuals which is a sum of all the pleasures, sentiment and well-
being of the individuals (Alon & Lehrer, 2017). The supporters of this theory hold that happiness
is the only good and individuals should target the achievement of happiness as consequence of
their actions.
According to this theory, the right to die should be, granted to terminally ill patients who
no longer wish to endure the pain and suffering. The Utilitarianism theory in this context can be
applied to achieve the ultimate happiness of the individuals, which is relief from the unbearable
pain and suffering (Barrow, 2015). It is to be mentioned those who choose to end their lives to
end the pain and suffering consider death to be the ultimate and final source of their well being.
However this theory will not apply to the case of mentally unstable people or people suffering
from mental illness as they cannot assess the consequences of their decisions. It can be noted that
this theory justifies the maximization of utility which in this case is death for the terminally ill
patients. However the principle of this theory can be misinterpreted by people who are suicidal
or are suffering from depression or mental trauma and they can opt for the easy way of reliving
depression by committing suicide without thinking about the consequences of their actions
Kantian Ethics theory: Right to die
According to this deontological theory it can be stated the action of an individual can
only be good if the same is governed by a moral duty (Cline, 2014). The principle of this theory
states that for an action to be considered permissible and morally correct, it must be applicable to
all the people without any exceptions.

3PHILOSPHY
It is to be noted that according to this theory, it is not morally correct to end a life
voluntarily by a person. Therefore it can be said that Euthanasia, assisted suicide and suicide are
not permissible by the aforementioned theory. It is to be mentioned that the main principle of
Kant’s theory is the applicable to all individuals. Therefore is if killing is considered to be evil,
the act of ending a life is also considered to evil even if the same is done voluntarily. If the right
of individuals to end their lives is to be analyzed in the light of the aforementioned theory it is to
be stated that the intention of the act is more important than the act itself. Some people believe
that since the primary principle of this theory is universal applicability, if a person is granted the
right to end his voluntarily due to terminal illness, the society might decide that the fate of the
unfortunate and incompetent members of the society should be the same as they do not
contribute to the society. This theory suffers from certain drawbacks as well. It imposes a moral
duty on the terminally people of carrying on their live even if they are in great physical pain and
distress. The right to ultimate relief from pain and suffering is denied to them.
Conclusion
Thus to conclude, it can be said that the Right to die and Euthanasia are relative concepts
and are subject to a lot of debate. The laws of Euthanasia and right to die are different n different
countries of the world. The main stakeholders of right to die are the patients who are suffering
from terminal illness who wish to end their lives to relieve themselves from the pain and people
who wish to end their lives due to suffering from depression. It can be said that according to the
Utilitarianism theory, the right to die should be granted to terminally ill patients who no longer
wish to endure the pain and suffering but the same should not be provided to mentally unstable
people and people who are suffering mental illness. However according to the Kant’s theory it is
not morally correct to end a life voluntarily by a person. It can be said that Euthanasia, assisted
suicide and suicide are not permissible by the aforementioned theory.

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Reference List:
Albee, E. (2014). A history of English utilitarianism (Vol. 1). Routledge.
Alon, S., & Lehrer, E. (2017). Subjective Utilitarianism: Decisions in a social context.
Barrow, R. (2015). Utilitarianism: A contemporary statement. Routledge.
Chambaere, K., Vander Stichele, R., Mortier, F., Cohen, J., & Deliens, L. (2015). Recent trends
in euthanasia and other end-of-life practices in Belgium. New England Journal of
Medicine, 372(12), 1179-1181.
Cline, A. (2014). Deontology and Ethics: What is Deontology. Deontological Ethics.
Emanuel, E. J., Onwuteaka-Philipsen, B. D., Urwin, J. W., & Cohen, J. (2016). Attitudes and
practices of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide in the United States, Canada, and
Europe. Jama, 316(1), 79-90.
Letwin, C., Wo, D., Folger, R., Rice, D., Taylor, R., Richard, B., & Taylor, S. (2016). The
“right” and the “good” in ethical leadership: Implications for supervisors’ performance
and promotability evaluations. Journal of Business Ethics, 137(4), 743-755.
Somerville, M. (2014). Death talk: the case against euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide.
McGill-Queen's Press-MQUP.