Voluntary Voluntary Euthanasia and Euthanasia and

Involuntary Involuntary EuthanasiaEuthanasia

VOLUNTARY EUTHANASIA

INVOLUNTARY

EUTHANASIA

PASSIVE EUTHANASIA

ACTIVE

EUTHANASIA

VOLUNTARY EUTHANASIA

INVOLUNTARY EUTHANASIA

PASSIVE

EUTHANASIA

ACTIVE

EUTHANASIA

Euthanasia is performed because the patient has asked for it. e.g. a cancer patient who asks for a drug to quicken their death

Doctors give a painkilling drug but do nothing to save the patient.

Euthanasia is performed without the dying person being told. e.g. a coma patient.

Doctors give the patient pain killing drugs knowing that the drug will also kill the patient.

Voluntary EuthanasiaVoluntary Euthanasia• Voluntary euthanasia is where a

person has made a conscious decision to end their life.

• It can be during an illness when there is no hope of recovery.

• You might make the decision while well, that in the event of you becoming ill with no chance of recovery you would prefer your death to be hastened by the help of someone.

Voluntary Voluntary EuthanasiaEuthanasia

The person wants to die and says so.

This includes cases of:

• asking for help with dying

• refusing burdensome medical treatment

• asking for medical treatment to be stopped, or life support machines to be switched off

• refusing to eat

• simply deciding to die

Practical reasonsPractical reasons• Terminally ill – better than waiting

for possible long and painful death

• Quality of life might be going – sportsperson left severely handicapped in wheelchair or bed

• Deterioration of condition

• Physical pain

• Mental /mental loss leading possibly to PVS (Persistent Vegetative State)

• Burden on family for care

• Don’t want to give family the responsibility of ending life – give it to doctors

Involuntary (Non-Involuntary (Non-voluntary) Euthanasiavoluntary) Euthanasia

• This is where the choice to end your life is not made by you but by others.

• Doctors would get relatives’ permission to carry out euthanasia.

• However, relatives’ sometimes refuse and the doctor’s take it to the courts.

When might involuntary When might involuntary euthanasia be an option?euthanasia be an option?

• Persistent Vegetative State (PVS) with no predicted hope of recovery.

• Person’s life is judged to be of such poor quality it is not worth living.

• Possibly result of illness or injury.

• Child born with severe mental/ physical deformity which will cause severe pain/suffering.

• Terminally ill person who is suffering greatly.

• the person is too young (eg a very young baby).

• the person is senile.

• Limited resources for NHS. Why use precious resources on someone with no hope instead of where there might be hope of recovery

• unable to communicate wishes to others.

• the person is mentally retarded to a very severe extent

Involuntary (Non-Involuntary (Non-voluntary) Euthanasiavoluntary) Euthanasia

The person cannot make a decision or cannot make their wishes known. This includes cases where:

• the person is in a coma

• the person is severely brain damaged

• the person is mentally disturbed in such a way that they should be protected from themselves

HomeworkHomework• Come up with 3 possible

arguments for and against Euthanasia.

• Remembering to distinguish between voluntary and involuntary!!!