Anne-Kathrin Busè

06.01.2006

Euthanasia -

An overview about forms, differences and difficulties

0.

,,Hook" of the presentation

1

1.

Introduction

1

2.

Forms of euthanasia

1

a) Passive euthanasia

1

b) Active (or direct) euthanasia

2

c) Active homicide

2

d) Indirect euthanasia

2

e) Assisted suicide

2

3.

The situation within Germany and the relevant laws

3

4.

Situation in other european countries

4

a) The Netherlands and Belgium

4

b) Switzerland

5

c) Other european countries

5

5.

Possible alternatives to euthanasia

5

6.

Difficulties of euthanasia

6

7.

Arguments in favour of and against euthanasia

7

8.

Conclusion

8

9.

Literatur

9

Appendix: Well-known cases of euthanasia

9

0

Anne-Kathrin Busè

06.01.2006

0. ,,Hook" of the presentation

Imagine the situation: If somebody you love is in serious and ongoing pain and they asked

you to help them to die. What would you do?...

1.

Introduction

Because of the great advances in medicine and the ever increasing average age in Europe, a

discussion of the topic of euthanasia has come to the fore in the last years. The term

,,euthanasia" originally comes from Greek and means ,,good death". In ancient Greek society

it meant the right of the individual to choose his own form of death, for example if he no

longer felt, that living his life had any value. ,,Good death", or euthanasia, involved a process

of fast and easy death, without great suffering. However within Christian belief suicide is

regarded as a sin, and therefore, the original meaning of euthanasia has been greatly altered.

Today it means medical professionals helping incurably ill people, in order to spare them

from agonizing suffering. Another negative connotation of ,,euthanasia" is its use in genocide

during the second world war, when certain people, who were considered inferior such as jews,

handicapped people, seriously ill people etc. were exterminated. The Nazis claimed, this was

for the benefit of the suffering person and for the benefit of the general public. This is one of

the reasons why a discussion about the topic has been such a taboo in Germany for many

years, so that an objective and critical examination of this issue is long overdue.

In such a complex discussion there can be no easy solutions, and inevitably there will always

be strong and differing opinions. Perhaps the best solution lies in a compromise being found

by all sides, and by people informing themselves about the facts and circumstances of

euthanasia. The aim of my presentation is to provide some information on the subject, and I

would hope to make the recipients think about the issue and to encourage them to discuss it

afterwards.

2. Forms of euthanasia

We have to distinguish between active and passive euthanasia, which cannot always clearly

be differentiated from each other.

a)

Passive euthanasia...

...means to ,,let die". An example is, when a doctor refuses to give or stops the treatment of

life-preserving measures, for instance artificial respiration, dialysis, reanimation or total

1

Anne-Kathrin Busè

06.01.2006

parenteral nutrition. In this case, the doctor doesn′t intervene actively in the medical

treatment. For a long time this form has been recognized as a practice in the end stages of an

incurable illness. If the doctor helps a patient who is dying, so long as the dying process has

already started, the doctor remains unpunished. This form of euthanasia is only punishable by

law, if it was practiced without the agreement of the patient and/or if there was no evidence

that the patient was already nearing death. Passive euthanasia is only permissible, if medical

treatment, for example life-preserving measures, would diminish the right of a person to die

with dignity.

b)

Active (or direct) euthanasia...

...means homicide on demand by the patient through intervention from the outside, mostly

through a doctor. This form of euthanasia is not allowed to be practiced in Germany, even if

the patient demands it explicitly. The medical procedure would be to administer poisonous

substances, ot to give an overdose of medicine or anaesthetics.

c)

Active homicide

For this form of euthanasia the doctor decides autonomously to kill a patient without any

agreement from the patient concerned - for instance a person in coma vigil. The doctor and his

nursing staff nonetheless get punished for commiting a homicide, without any consideration

of their motives. These motives are unimportant for their sentencing.

d)

Indirect euthanasia

This form is also seen als a kind of active euthanasia. The doctor gives a patient medicine, for

instance a pain-reliever like morphine, knowing, that as a side effect, the treatment will result

in the earlier death of the patien. The doctor choses the benefit of easing the patients pain over

the longevity of the patient. Indirect euthanasia is allowed in Germany and even required

treatment: That is, it would be seen as being against the medical code, if a doctor refused to

administer the necessary strong pain-relievers, because he didn′t want to be the cause of

bringing on the earlier death of the patient. Due to the neglect of the patient′s pain, the doctor

would probably be punished for failure to render assistance, or even fined for assault.

e) Assisted suicide

A doctor can provide a patient, who has already expressed the wish to die, with all the

medical requirements, he needs for suicide, without the danger of being punished himself. But

2