The Ethical Dilemma of Euthanasia
THE ETHICAL DILEMMAS OF EUTHANASIA
Megan Best
Dr Megan Best is a bioethicist and palliative care doctor who is employed by Hope
Healthcare, a Christian healthcare provider in Sydney. Her clinical focus is the development of a Palliative Care Day Clinic which aims to support terminally ill patients with advanced disease who wish to remain living at home.
This paper was originally presented at the Christian perspectives on the end of life
CASE Conference in March 2010, and is an extended version of the article as it appears in Case magazine, Issue 25 (December 2010). A second paper presented by
Dr Best at the same conference discusses the arguments for and against Advanced
Directives from a Christian perspective. This and a number of other papers on bioethical issues can be found on the CASE website (www.case.edu.au).
Discussion of euthanasia often elicits strong emotion, which is not surprising as it involves life and death issues. For over 2000 years it has been a prohibited medical practice. But now?
Euthanasia is legal in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Physician Assisted
Suicide (PAS) is legal in Oregon and Washington State in the US. There are serious discussions going on in Montana, Singapore and Spain. In The UK, over 100 Brits have died under the arrangements in Switzerland, and the government is developing guidelines for prosecution of those who assist in such suicides. The Swiss authorities are having a similar debate themselves, with the final outcome far from clear.
In Australia legislation concerning end-of-life issues has been dealt with on a state basis. In 1995 the Northern Territory passed legislation allowing euthanasia, but it was overturned by the Federal Parliament in 1997. Last year a bill was tabled in the
Federal Senate trying to reactivate it. Recently bills have been debated in Victoria,
Tasmania and South Australia. Legislation for euthanasia has been twice considered and rejected by the NSW
Megan Best
Dr Megan Best is a bioethicist and palliative care doctor who is employed by Hope
Healthcare, a Christian healthcare provider in Sydney. Her clinical focus is the development of a Palliative Care Day Clinic which aims to support terminally ill patients with advanced disease who wish to remain living at home.
This paper was originally presented at the Christian perspectives on the end of life
CASE Conference in March 2010, and is an extended version of the article as it appears in Case magazine, Issue 25 (December 2010). A second paper presented by
Dr Best at the same conference discusses the arguments for and against Advanced
Directives from a Christian perspective. This and a number of other papers on bioethical issues can be found on the CASE website (www.case.edu.au).
Discussion of euthanasia often elicits strong emotion, which is not surprising as it involves life and death issues. For over 2000 years it has been a prohibited medical practice. But now?
Euthanasia is legal in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Physician Assisted
Suicide (PAS) is legal in Oregon and Washington State in the US. There are serious discussions going on in Montana, Singapore and Spain. In The UK, over 100 Brits have died under the arrangements in Switzerland, and the government is developing guidelines for prosecution of those who assist in such suicides. The Swiss authorities are having a similar debate themselves, with the final outcome far from clear.
In Australia legislation concerning end-of-life issues has been dealt with on a state basis. In 1995 the Northern Territory passed legislation allowing euthanasia, but it was overturned by the Federal Parliament in 1997. Last year a bill was tabled in the
Federal Senate trying to reactivate it. Recently bills have been debated in Victoria,
Tasmania and South Australia. Legislation for euthanasia has been twice considered and rejected by the NSW