The moral case against euthanasia. Catholics must articulate persuasive arguments to counter the cultural rush toward assisted suicide.
Catholics who adhere to a consistent ethic of life are going to face tougher opposition as they struggle to defend society's most vulnerable members. The major ethical contention will concern the ethics of dying. Unfortunately, there have not been well-articulated moral arguments to counter society's rush toward physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia. Catholics must articulate a persuasive ethical ideal for dying a truly good death. It is crucial to achieve a balance: between valuing individual autonomy and protecting the common good; between affirming the goodness of life and accepting death as a reality of the life cycle. Another challenging piece of the moral argument lies in convincing people that the means and processes used to achieve a goal are rarely neutral. Another serious problem with permitting the killing of self or others is that one cannot ever be certain of the agent's motivation. And when an individual's subjective determination of a need to choose death is given ultimate validity, there is no way to call a halt. If medical mercy killing becomes acceptable, social pressure can mount for an ill person to ask for death to relieve the family burdens. Maintaining an absolute prohibition against actively taking a human life--self or other, with or without consent, dying or not--is necessary to protect human communal bonds.
Callahan
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Department of Psychology, Mercy College, Dobbs Ferry, NY.
D002410:Catholicism; D005065:Euthanasia; D028601:Euthanasia, Active; D006801:Humans; D033182:Intention; D009014:Morals; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D012935:Social Justice; D017236:Suicide, Assisted; D014481:United States; D026712:Value of Life; D035761:Wedge Argument