End-of-life issues are incredibly tricky. One of the first steps is to clarify the key concepts involved and to recognize that euthanasia raises different moral issues than physician-assisted suicide. There are different types of euthanasia (voluntary/non-voluntary; active/passive) and each type has its own moral concerns and legal status. Physician-assisted suicide has a separate line of moral and legal development that must be understood to adequately address the moral issues involved. Sorting out all of these different lines of reasoning and argumentation is essential if one hopes to grasp the moral complexities that may occur in relation to death, especially in modern times, when one may be kept physically alive on machines for a very long time.
Read Chapter 10: Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide in the text Vaughn, L. Bioethics: Principles, Issues, and Cases, 4th Edition. Oxford University Press. 2019. As you read the chapter focus on the essay Active and Passive Euthanasia by James Rachels. You need to analyze the essay Active and Passive Euthanasia by James Rachel and address each of the following prompts:
Clearly explain the argument that Rachels gives in response to the American Medical Association.
Explain the difference between “killing” and “letting die” and how Rachels relates that distinction to his argument.
Explain the Smith/Jones thought experiment and clarify how the Smith/Jones cases relate to the overall argument and diagnosis that Rachels presents.
Finally, do you agree with Rachels? Defend your answer.
In order to help you think about this issue in more depth, please watch the Frontline documentary, The Suicide Plan (Time: 1:23:41; closed caption available). (Link below) http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/suicide-plan/
Pay close attention to the stories that you hear and the choices that confronted the families in the documentary.
The paper should be 3 pages in length and follow APA style. Please use the textbook and video as your only source.
