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Issues in medical ethics are rarely out of the media and it is an area of ethics that has particular interest for the general public as well as the medical practitioner. This short and accessible introduction provides an invaluable tool with which to think about the ethical values that lie at the heart of medicine. Tony Hope deals with the thorny moral questions such as euthanasia and the morality of killing, and also explores political questions such as: how should health care resources be distributed fairly? Each chapter in this book considers a different issue: genetics, modern reproductive technologies, resource allocation, mental health, medical research, and discusses controversial questions such as: · Who should have access to reproductive technology? Who should pay? · Is it right to fund expensive drug treatment for individuals? · Should active euthanasia be legalized? · Should treatment for mental illness be imposed on patients without their consent? · Who should have access to information from genetic testing? · Should we require consent for the use of dead bodies or organs in medical research?
[...]... voluntary euthanasia attract large numbers of members Playing the Nazi card Medical Ethics There is a common, but invalid, argument against euthanasia that I call ‘playing the Nazi card’ This is when the opponent of euthanasia says to the supporter of euthanasia: ‘Your views are just like those of the Nazis’ There is no need for the opponent of euthanasia to spell out the rhetorical conclusion: ‘and... towards medical ethics, wanting medical practice, and patients, to benefit from ethical reasoning I enjoy the highly theoretical, and I like to pursue reasoning back towards the general and the abstract; but I keep an eye to what makes a difference in practice I discuss the 2 1 Medical ethics is about the ploughman as well as about Icarus (whose legs can just be seen disappearing into the sea) Bruegel, Icarus... killings that took place under the guise of ‘euthanasia’ were grossly immoral The point at issue is whether euthanasia in certain specific circumstances is right or wrong, moral or immoral All depends on being clear about these specific circumstances and being precise about what is meant by euthanasia Only then can the arguments for and against legalizing euthanasia be properly evaluated What is needed... is said that euthanasia is a Nazi view, what is meant is that it is one of these core immoral views that characterize the immoral Nazi worldview The problem with this argument, however, is that most supporters of euthanasia – as it is practised in the Netherlands for example – are not supporting the Nazi worldview Quite the contrary Those on both sides of the euthanasia debate agree that the Nazi killings... Y’s death Passive euthanasia: X allows Y to die X withholds or withdraws life-prolonging treatment Voluntary euthanasia: Euthanasia when Y competently requests death himself, i.e Non-voluntary euthanasia: Euthanasia when Y is not competent to express a preference, e.g Y is a severely disabled newborn Involuntary euthanasia: Death is against Y’s competent wishes, although X permits or imposes death for... that our moral enthusiasms make us inflexible, one-dimensional, flat This is a lesson we need to take into any area of practical ethics, including medical ethics What better place to start this tour of medical ethics than at the end, with the thorny issue of euthanasia? 6 Chapter 2 Euthanasia: good medical practice, or murder? Good deeds do not require long statements; but when evil is done the whole art... classic false argument known as argumentum ad hominem (or bad company fallacy): that a particular view is true or false, not because of the reasons in favour or against the view, but by virtue of the fact that a particular person (or group of people) holds that view (see Warburton, 1996) But bad people may hold some good views, and good people may hold some bad views It is quite possible that a senior Nazi... promising, interpretation of premise 1* is that those views that are categorized as ‘Nazi views’ are all immoral Some particular Nazis may hold some views about some topics that are not immoral, but those would not be ‘Nazi views’ The Nazi views being referred to are a set of related views, all immoral, that are driven by racism and involve killing people against their will and against their interests... and feel – a single, universal, organizing principle in terms of which alone all that they are and say has significance The fox represents those who pursue many ends, often unrelated and even contradictory, connected, if at all, only in some de facto way, [who] lead lives, perform acts, and entertain ideas that are centrifugal rather than centripetal seizing upon the essence of a vast variety of... concerned with legal issues Should it always be a crime for a doctor to practise euthanasia? When can a mentally ill person be treated against his will? And it leads us to the major world issue of the proper relationships between rich and poor countries Modern medical science creates new moral choices, and challenges traditional views that we have of ourselves Cloning has inspired many films and much concern . condition on any acquirer British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Data available Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Data available ISBN. Short Introductions available now: ANCIENT EGYPT Ian Shaw ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY Julia Annas THE ANGLO-SAXON AGE John Blair ANIMAL RIGHTS David DeGrazia ARCHAEOLOGY