1. Questions and Guidelines
Euthanasia
Questions and Guidelines

2. Essential Questions
1) How is euthanasia different from palliative care?
2) How have advances in medicine affected the traditional distinction between euthanasia and palliative care?
3) What is the difference between prolonging life and postponing death?
4) Do we have the moral and legal right to chose to die?

3. Some Definitions
Euthanasia: Deliberately taking steps to bring about a person’s death for the purpose of eliminating suffering
Direct (Active) Euthanasia: taking deliberate steps to end the life of a suffering and incurably ill person
Indirect (Passive) Euthanasia: Deliberately not taking steps to prevent a sick person’s death, precisely with the desire and intention that this “withholding” will lead to or cause death
*None are acceptable according to Church

4. Definitions cont Palliative Care: Physician Assisted Suicide:
medical care to lessen suffering during terminal illness, especially with regards to pain medication
Death is not willed or directly sought but may be hastened by care
*acceptable by Church
Physician Assisted Suicide:
A person who is incurably ill killing him/herself with the help of a physician
*Not acceptable by Church

5. 1) How is euthanasia different from palliative care that might shorten one’s life?
Euthanasia seeks the deliberate ending of one’s life to end suffering
Palliative care seeks the lessening of suffering due to terminal illness

6. Essential Question #2
2) How have advances in medicine affected the traditional distinction between euthanasia and palliative care?
Has blurred meanings of each
Moved past mysterious boundary separating prolonging life and health from simply postponing death
Challenging us to re-examine or moral and ethical reasoning

7. Essential Question #3
What is the difference between prolonging life and postponing death?
Prolonging life a clear virtue: honors the sacredness of life
Postponing death less clear virtue: can keep bodies alive but at what cost?
Is the dignity and sacredness of life strengthened or weakened through medical science? Depends

8. Essential Question #4
Do we have the moral and legal right to chose to die?
A Catholic Response:
The Catechism: 2278: discontinuing burdensome medical procedures that are extraordinary and burdensome is legitimate. Key point, action cannot directly cause death; must be due to disease or condition

9. Answer Essential Question #4
Life celebrated as gift of loving God
Each life in image and likeness of God
Individuals have right to make own healthcare decisions and appoint a proxy
Physical life is sacred but ultimate goal is everlasting life w/God; death need not be avoided at all costs

10. Suffering understood as fact of human life and has special significance for Christian: opportunity to share in Christ’s redemptive suffering
Still, nothing wrong with trying to relieve someone’s suffering
Euthanasia; seen as an attack on human life