Situation Ethics &

Euthanasia
PPT4 Applying Situation Ethics

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Quality or Sanctity of Life?
• Sanctity – sacredness
• But ”thou shalt not kill’ isn’t absolute (war, death penalty)
• Christian churches allow forms of non-intervention eg “since
resuscitation techniques go beyond the ordinary means to
which one is bound, it cannot be held that there is an
obligation to use them or, consequently, that one is bound to
give the doctor permission to use them.” Pope Pius (see
image)
• Passive/active
• Voluntary/non-voluntary

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Making a Situational
Judgement
• Quality of Life must be considered
• The person’s interests must come first
• Love demands we don’t allow someone to die a ‘slow
and ugly death’
• Love comes before law and moral rules (no absolutes)
• The end justifies the means – even in involuntary
euthanasia (Schindler’s List)

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Elements of a Moral Judgement

Motive -> nature of the act -> feelings -> consequences

Q. Which is Fletcher’s theory weak on?

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Recap Natural Law

Motive -> Intrinsic Good of the Act -> Feelings -> Consequences

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Recap Kant

Motive -> Intrinsic Good of the Act -> Feelings -> Consequences

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Problems…
• Who decides?
• How do we value ‘useless life’? PSV Tony Bland (d
1993) Hillsborough victim (1989)
• Fletcher ignores principle of consent – “The day
will come when people will be able to carry a card,
notarized and legally executed, which explains that
they do not want to 'be kept alive beyond the
humane point”
• Paul Ramsey ‘there is a categorical imperative:
‘never abandon care’.’ (1970:134)

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The Starmer Guidelines
• How likely is a prosecution?
• Financial interest
• Undue pressure
• Consent
• Of the 250 Dignitas suicides (eg Daniel James) few
have been investigated
• “The policy is now more focused on the motivation of
the suspect rather than the characteristics of the
victim.” Keir Starmer
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Oregon USA (1997)
• Self-medicate
• Over 18
• Consent of two doctors (15 days gap)
• Terminally ill
• Doctor in attendance
• Must be given palliative care option
• 995 people have died in ten years (average two per
week)

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Dignitas

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Slippery Slope
• An empirical question
• Probabilities
• Legal checks on the slope
• Numbers in Oregon are small
(about 100 people a year)

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The Integrity Problem
• Bernard Williams – some things we just cannot do
• Bruce Vortuga – duhumanises us all
• “The quantification Fletcher advocates for
determining the quality of life and those persons
qualified to retain it, in a very real sense,
dehumanise us all”.
• Utilitarian argument against – society generally less
happy if we know we have certain choices

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A Doctor’s View
• “The myth that doctors are there to prolong
life; they are not. Their prime purpose is to
relieve suffering; if life is prolonged as a
result, well and good. The medical profession
has got these ideals confused.
• ”May I urge everyone to make an "advance
directive" or "living will" and give it to their
GP and lawyer.” Dr Hooper Independent May
2007

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Is Autonomy Enough?
• Act based theories emphasise autonomy
• How free (autonomous) are we?
• Depression
• Financial loss
• Increase in life expectancy/elderly population
• Family tensions

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The Personal v. the Social
• There are two dimensions to this debate
• The personal decision and right to choose (the idea of
autonomy also mentioned by Kant)
• Diane Pretty – the right to life includes the right to
choose to die (European Court disagrees, 2003)
• The social implications – Mill pointed out that general
conditions in society increase or decrease utility – might
we all be afraid when we get old that we become useless
and are pressurised?

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Discuss
• Situation Ethics ignores the social context and benefit of rules. Discuss
• This argument is used by William Barclay to criticise Situation Ethics in Ethics in
a Permissive Society (1971)
• “There is no difference between an act and an omission in decisions on
euthanasia”. Discuss
• Does Mill’s utilitarianism fare better, as it emphasises the social utility of rules
of justice and benefits of sense of security?
• Assisted suicide remains a criminal offence in England and Wales, punishable by
up to 14 years in prison, but individual decisions on prosecution are made
depending on the circumstances in each case.

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