Voluntary assisted dying and patient autonomy
Keywords:
Voluntary assisted dying, Assisted suicide, Voluntary euthanasia, Autonomy, Political liberalism, Patient self-determination principleAbstract
In this paper, I defend medical assistance in dying, both in the form of physician-assisted suicide and in that of active, direct, voluntary euthanasia. At the beginning, I clarify the notions to be used in the discussion and the legal and clinic conditions that patients should ideally fulfill to request aid in dying. After underlying the bioethical and philosophical dimension involved in the question of voluntary death, I examine the major arguments for and against this practice. Once the four main counterarguments are rebutted (based on the sanctity of life, the mission of medicine, the slippery slope, and the palliative medicine), I conclude by stressing that there are good reasons to support the legalization of voluntary death, since it represents an extension of patients’ rights and of the principle of autonomy.
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