MORAL CONCERNS WITH EUTHANASIA

Abstract

Euthanasia or mercy killing has generated arguments and counter-arguments on its moral justifiability. There are cases where terminally ill-patients request for euthanasia; this is because, to them, life has become meaningless hence, the justification for the request. There are also some cases where a patient may be incapable to make such request but the physician deems it fit that the patient be administered lethal drugs. Doctors on the other hand are duty bound to preserve the lives of their patients and when faced with a case of euthanasia, does it run contrary to this duty? In other words, is euthanasia against the Hippocratic oath? Does euthanasia pose a threat to the sanctity of human life? Does it encourage slippery-slope? These questions and more were ethically appraised by this study and it submits that even though preservation of life is paramount, what happens if life becomes a threat to itself? What happens when my continuous living happens to be the reason why I do not want to live? These rhetorical questions give credence to a possible conclusion on the moral justifiability of euthanasia.