Morality of Active Euthinasia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Morality of Active Euthinasia - Essay Example Active euthanasia is sometimes called mercy killing whereas the physicians end the patients’ life directly, such as by giving lethal injection. The passive one is delivered by ending any life sustaining treatment. The result of both cases is the same, the death of the patients. However, some can argue that the former is caused by the physician while the latter by the disease. The conventional doctrine is that there is such an important moral difference between the two that, although the latter is sometimes permissible, the former is always forbidden. (Rachels 78) In my opinion, the morality of active euthanasia actually depends on the situation. In some rare cases whereas the patient suffers extreme pain and has absolutely no hope of surviving, active euthanasia, although it is illegal, can be seen as an act of kindness. This mercy killing is, in some sense, even more compassionate than passive euthanasia, whereas the physicians forgo the life sustaining treatment and let the patient suffer to death. However, in most cases, active euthanasia is absolutely immoral. When there is a chance for the patients to recover, no matter how tiny the chance is, mercy killing is obviously not the act of compassion. Even if the patient voluntarily ask for it, as long as the chance to recover is there, active euthanasia is still morally wrong. The morality of active euthanasia in individual cases can depend on the situation. The morality in the policy level, however, cannot depend on the situation. The question whether it should be legalized or not should only be answered after considering carefully the potential consequences. If active euthanasia is legalized, it will definitely generate good and bad consequences. Whether the good ones outweigh the bad ones or the opposite should be the main concern to answer the question of legalization. Let’s deal with the good outcomes first. According to Dan W. Brock, if active euthanasia is legalized, it means