Euthanasia, dying well and the slippery slope.
Arguments in favour of voluntary euthanasia tend to be put in utilitarian terms. This paper suggests an alternative, neo-Aristotelian argument justifying certain individual acts of both suicide and voluntary euthanasia. It goes on to examine the slippery slope arguments against legalizing euthanasia. It is suggested that such arguments cut both ways. However, the suggestion that we ought therefore to permit a social experiment in voluntary euthanasia is set alongside the Dutch experience. The latter seems to imply that if such experiments are to take place then great caution needs to be applied.
North Trent College of Nursing and Midwifery, Sheffield, England.
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Allmark
D026689:Ethical Analysis; D028663:Ethical Theory; D004995:Ethics, Professional; D005065:Euthanasia / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D033101:Euthanasia, Active, Voluntary; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent; D009014:Morals; D009426:Netherlands; D026706:Paternalism; D010344:Patient Advocacy; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D012297:Right to Die; D012945:Social Values; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D013405:Suicide; D028722:Virtues; D035862:Vulnerable Populations; D035761:Wedge Argument