Title: Chapter 5 - The Ethical Debate
Headings: Chapter 5 - The Ethical Debate
Chapter 5 - The Ethical Debate
Content: Others hold that assisted suicide or euthanasia   are ethically legitimate in rare and exceptional cases, but that   professional standards and the law should not be changed to   authorize either practice. Finally, some advocate that assisted   suicide, or both assisted suicide and euthanasia, should be   recognized as legally and morally acceptable options in the care of   dying or severely ill patients. ( 1)  An Historical Perspective    For thousands of years, philosophers and religious thinkers   have addressed the ethics of suicide. These debates have rested on   broad principles about duties to self and to society as well as   fundamental questions of the value of human life. Many great   thinkers of Western intellectual history have contributed to this   --------------------------------------------------------------------   (1) Through most of this chapter, arguments are schematically    presented as those of "proponents" of legalizing assistcd    suicide and euthanasia and "opponents" of legalizing these    practices. Each category groups together diverse views in order    to provide an overview of a debate marked by complex and nuanced    positions. page 78   WHEN DEATH IS SOUGHT     debate, ranging from Plato and Aristotle in ancient Greece to   Augustine and Thomas Aquinas in the Middle Ages, and Locke, Hume,   and Kant in more modern times. ( 2)    Some views and practices surrounding suicide were rooted in   particular cultures and beliefs that have little relevance for   contemporary society. For example, in the warrior society of the   Vikings, only those who died violently could enter paradise, or   Valhalla. The greatest honor was death in battle;