WHY EUTHANASIA IS WRONG
Euthanasia is probably the most hotly debated issue in current bioethics. Lobby
groups around the world are pressing for legislative changes to make euthanasia
legal. Yet euthanasia is a grave moral wrong and cannot be justified, since it is the
intentional killing of the innocent. I will argue that not even voluntary euthanasia
can be justified, hence a fortiori non-voluntary and involuntary euthanasia cannot
be justified. Further, no case for euthanasia can be based on the acts/omissions
distinction. We must also understand the distinction between ordinary and
extraordinary means to see how euthanasia is not the same as other kinds of
situtation that do not involve intentional killing. Supporters of euthanasia rely on
the concept of 'quality of life' to defend their case. Yet this concept is either
incoherent or a disguise for other, more sinister, ideas behind the arguments for
euthanasia. The case for euthansia has no foundations whatsoever.