Letting die

In non-consequentialist ethical thought, there is a moral distinction between killing and letting die. Whereas killing involves intervention, letting die involves withholding care (for example, in passive euthanasia),[1][2] or other forms of inaction (such as in the Trolley problem).

Also in medical ethics there is a moral distinction between euthanasia and letting die. Legally, patients often have a right to reject life-sustaining care, in areas that do not permit euthanasia.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ Thomson, Judith Jarvis; The Hegeler Institute (1976). Sugden, Sherwood J. B. (ed.). "Killing, Letting Die, and the Trolley Problem". Monist (in German). 59 (2): 204–217. doi:10.5840/monist197659224. ISSN 0026-9662. PMID 11662247.
  2. ^ Foot, Philippa (1967). "The Problem of Abortion and the Doctrine of the Double Effect". Oxford Review. 5: 5–15.
  3. ^ aafp.org

Further reading

  • Bennett Jonathan (1993), 'Negation and abstention: two theories of allowing' in B. Steinbock and A. Norcross (eds.), Killing and Letting Die, pp. 230-56, New York: Fordham University Press.


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