Euthanasia

Euthanasia

1. What is Euthanasia?

   • Euthanasia is the practise of intentionally terminating a life in order to relieve pain and suffering
   • Derived from Greek, literally meaning 'good death'

2. What are the different types of Euthanasia

   • Active Involuntary
     • the terms used to describe the situation where Euthanasia is performed when the patient does not request it, with the intent of relieving their suffering without the patient's consent
     • Physician Assisted Suicide
       • Active euthanasia administered by a physician
   • Voluntary
     • Withdrawing or withholding medical treatment, without the patient's consent resulting in the patient's death
   • Active Voluntary
     • Active euthanasia refers to the deliberate act, usually through the intentional administration of lethal drugs, to end an incurably or terminally ill patient's life with the patient's consent.
   • Passive Voluntary
     • Withdrawing or withholding medical treatment, with the patient's consent resulting in the patient's death.

3. How do Australia's Euthanasia laws compare to Euthanasia laws in other countries?

   • How are Australia's laws different from other countries?
     • What are some countries/states that allow Euthanasia
       • NETHERLANDS: Euthanasia is legal in the Netherlands under a strict set of conditions: the patient must be suffering unbearable pain, their illness must incurable and the demands must be made in full consciousness by the patient.
       • UNITED STATES: Doctors are allowed to prescribe lethal doses of medicine to terminally ill patients in five US states.
         • PAS allowed in California because of efforts of Compassion and Choices organisation and Brittany Maynard who was a terminally ill patient who requested euthanasia.
         • Allows advance directives
       • GERMANY: Assited suicide is allowed is legal as long as the lethal drug is taken without help, such as someone guiding or supporting the patient's hand.
       • Laws have not been misused, as euthanasia is requested rarely even in countries where it is legal
   • What do experts think about this?
     • Why? What are the driving factors for their perspectives?
       • Do research, surveys and interviews to find out
     • Do they think other countries have a better/worse approach to tackling end of life treatment and Euthanasia laws?
       • Find Information about this through research, surveys and interviews

4. What are the different views regarding Euthanasia?

   • Why? What are the driving factor for these perspectives?
     • Religion
       • Christianity
       • Islam
       • Hindusim
       • etc.
     • Philosophical beliefs
       • Utilitarinism
         • Euthanasia should not be legal as potential of slippery slope as well as impact on family members of patients will not cause greater good.
       • Situation Ethics
       • Kantian ethics
       • Consequentiaists
       • Ethical egoism
     • The person may have a family member who is terminally or had a terminal illness
       • witnessed this first hand - does not want the same thing to happen to them
     • Other
   • Advocates of Euthanasia argue that people should have the right to make their own decisions regarding death.
     • Autonomy
   • Some opponents of Euthanasia believe that Euthanasia is equal to murder - sanctity of human life argument
     • Good palliative care can provide relief from suffering to patients and therefore we do not need to result to Euthanasia
     • human life must be respected and preserved
       • Sanctity of life
   • It is inhumane to allow a patient to suffer unbearably
     • Quality of life
   • Active Euthanasia is not morally worse than passive Euthanasia
   • Active Euthanasia is more humane than passive euthanasia as it is a quick and painless lethal injection whereas the latter can result in a relatively slow and painful death.
   • Passive Euthanasia is morally better than active Euthanasia as the patient has a natural death
   • Islamic faith says that it is solely up to God to decide when a person dies.
     • Natural course of death
   • Active Euthanasia is the same thing as murder
   • Patient's requests for Euthanasia are rarely autonomous as in many cases, the patient is too terminally ill to make the decision.
     • Slippery slope to other forms of euthanasia such as involuntary euthanasia
       • Giving to much power to doctors
       • Potential misuse of euthanasia
   • The rights of vulnerable patients could be undermined. e..g coercion of patients receivng costly treatments to accept euthanasia
     • Rarely free and voluntary
     • Euthanasia undermines medical research and palliative care
   • It is unfair to cast doctors into the role of administering Euthanasia. - the role of doctors is to save lives
     • Hippocratic Oath - euthanasia violates historically accepted codes of medical practise.

5. What are the views of experts and the general public regarding Euthanasia

   • Why? What are the driving factors for their perspectives?
     • Do some research, surveys and interviews to get some information about views of experts and the general public, as well as driving factors for their views
       • Consider research involving humans protocols
   • Experts
     • Philosophers
       • Peter Singer
     • Ethicist
     • Medical professionals that specialise and deal with end of life treatment
     • Politicians
     • Organisations
       • South Australian Voluntary Euthanasia Society
         • support law reform
       • Australian Med ical Association
         • Association for medical practitioners. AMA position statement includes information about rights and responsibilities of doctors regarding end of life care en euthanasia - holds same position as government.
       • Right to life Australia
         • against law reform
       • Australian Human Rights Commission
         • Supports law reform
       • Compassion and Choices
         • Supports law reform
   • Euthanasia polls show that Australians are in favour of law reform for active voluntary euthanasia

6. What are Australia's Euthanasia laws? How does Australia tackle end of life treatment

   • Euthanasia Bill in SA
     • Who made the decision?
       • What does the general public think about this?
         • Do research, surveys and interviews to find out
       • What do experts think about this?
         • Do research, surveys and interviews to find out
       • SA Members of Parliament
     • The bill did not pass by one vote
     • What was proposed in the Death with Dignity Bill?
       • To make a request for voluntary euthanasia, the patient must be eligible under the following criteria: (Death with Dignity Act 2016)
         • a) the person is competent adult
         • b) the person is suffering from a terminal medical condition and -
           • (i) that terminal medical condition is causing suffering that is intolerable to the person; and
           • (ii) there is no reasonably available medical treatment or palliative care options that would, having regard to both the treatment and any consequences of the treatment, relieve the person's suffering in a manner acceptable to the person.
         • c) the person's death, disregarding any medical treatment that may be administered to prolong the person's life, become inevitable by reason of the terminal medical condition;
         • d) the person does not have an impaired decision making capability in respect of a decision to make a request for voluntary euthanasia
         • e) The person making the request has stayed in SA not less than 12 months immediately preceding the making of the request.
   • Active voluntary euthanasia, assisted suicide and physician assisted suicide are illegal in all Australian states
   • Withdrawal or withholding of medical treatment is legal in Australia
   • Across all Australian states, any deliberate act resulting in the death of another person is defined as murder