A.
Terms:
What Are Euthanasia, Physician Assisted Suicide And Futile
Care Theory?
Terms
Regarding Euthanasia, Physician Assisted Suicide, Futile
Care Theory from www.euthanasia.com/definitions.html
and www.californiaprolife.org/euthanasia/definitions.html.
Euthanasia:
the intentional killing by act or omission of a dependent
human being for his or her alleged benefit. (The key word
here is "intentional". If death is not intended,
it is not an act of euthanasia)
Voluntary
euthanasia:
When the person who is killed has requested to be killed.
Non-voluntary:
When the person who is killed made no request and gave no
consent.
Involuntary
euthanasia:
When the person who is killed made an expressed wish to
the contrary.
Assisted
suicide:
Someone provides an individual with the information,
guidance, and means to take his or her own life with the
intention that they will be used for this purpose. When it
is a doctor who helps another person to kill himself or
herself it is called "physician assisted
suicide."
Euthanasia
By Action:
Intentionally causing a person's death by performing an
action such as by giving a lethal injection.
Euthanasia
By Omission:
Intentionally causing death by not providing necessary and
ordinary (usual and customary) care or food and water.
“Rational
Suicide.”
This is a new term.
It is becoming common to think that suicide is
rational if there is a hopeless condition including, but
not limited to, severe pain, psychological pain,
debilitating mental or physical conditions, and if the
quality of life is no longer acceptable to the person.
(Wesley Smith, Culture of Death pp.96-97).
Wesley Smith notes that this would make all suicide
“rational” because all suicidal people believe their
quality of life to be unacceptable.
Futile
Care Theory
holds that when a physician believes the quality of a
patient’s life is not sufficient to justify
life-sustaining treatment, the doctor is entitled to
refuse care, calling it inappropriate. (Burke Balche J.D. Medical Ethics director, National Right
to Life, personal pre-interview communication)
|
