The ethics of assisted suicide and euthanasia have been debated for several years, and philosophers and religious thinkers have developed theories and arguments to address the matter. The pillars of these arguments and debates are inclined toward the broad fundamental principles of duties to society and oneself, together with the central question of the value of life. This paper seeks to discuss and determine Adam’s case using Kant’s theory.
Kant’s theory is a deontological philosophy that emphasizes responsibility, moral duty, and commitment to ethics. He underlines that the essential factor to consider while deciding is a duty (Hill, 2019). Suicide, he believed, was a paradigmatic action that violated moral responsibility rules. He felt that self-preservation is the appropriate or correct end of rational people and that suicide would be incompatible with the essential worth of human existence. Like some current opponents of assisted suicide, Kant contended that taking one’s own life was incompatible with the appropriate understanding of autonomy (Paterson, 2017). Kant defined autonomy as one’s conscious desires and inclinations to rational comprehension of universally true moral laws, rather than the freedom to do whatever one wishes. Thus, assisted suicide can increase autonomy in some cases, as it provides the right to end the person’s life if one wants it, satisfying one’s last conscious desire. Canadian laws allow euthanasia and assisted suicide when it ends the suffering of terminally ill adults who voluntarily agree to die. Still, in the case of Adams, the procedure’s risks outweigh the benefits: thus, the morally responsible person would not allow him to die (BBC, 2017). In that way, it would be better not to end his life in any case.
Assisted suicide jeopardizes both the profession of medicine and the patient-physician relationship. Medicine is dedicated to curing the diseased or, at least, improving their lives. Even terminally ill patients wait for doctors to give them relief, not death. Any attempt to utilize medical tools to induce or achieve death violates its core beliefs. Even if there is no abuse, allowing doctors to participate in the killings will erode patients’ trust and influence how both parties regard medicine.
References
Hill, T. E. (2019). Dignity and practical reason in Kant’s moral theory. Cornell University Press.
Paterson, C. (2017). Assisted suicide and euthanasia: a natural law ethics approach. Routledge.
BBC. (2017). I have a mental illness; let me die [Video]. Web.