James Rachels' Death And Dying

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be a moral act? What about a patient that is suffering from
cancer? Is it moral to let that person suffer? These are some of the many
questions people have been trying to answer for year without success.
Euthanasia is a very uncomfortable subject to talk about for most people
because who wants to think about having to kill oneself or a person that is dear
to his or her life. Even though nobody wants to go through the hardship of
deciding whether a person should live or die, it happens everyday. There are
two forms of euthanasia. There is an active euthanasia and a passive euthanasia
(Jussim 7-13). This so-called distinction between active and passive was
challenged by Rachels in a paper first published in 1975 in the New England
Journal of Medicine. In that paper, Rachels challenges both the use and moral
significance of that distinction. He argues that active euthanasia is in many
cases is more humane than passive euthanasia. Rachels urges doctors to
reconsider ...

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if she doesn't go into surgery. However, Baby Jane Doe has a slight chance
of living if the surgery is done, but she would most likely live to be 18 years
old or less. She would still be mentally retarded and would need constant
attention from her parents. So if Baby Jane goes into surgery, it would be the
same as passive euthanasia. The parents of Baby Jane decided that it would be
better for them and her if she died peacefully rather than suffering through
what was sure to be her death in later years. However, the government decided
that it was wrong for Baby Jane to die so they were forced to have the surgery
done to their child (Rachels 60-62). So is killing someone worse than ...

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