Case Study:
Fatal Attraction
You have been with your life partner for 40 years and they are now within weeks of dying from a terminal illness. Each day you see them suffering from pain and the degradation of feeling helpless, having been active and strong all their life. Your life partner has been on anti-depressant medication and has twice attempted to take their own life, using this medication. You know that they wish to die with dignity, but they are not now in a position to take their own life. It is both hard to watch their suffering and very stressful and demanding on you. You have considered facilitating their death in a painless manner, however they are no longer in the position to actively consent to this themselves. Furthermore, there are the obvious legal ramifications of taking their life. Is it ethical to provide a mercy death for your partner, and what ethical guidance can you use to decide?
Consider what dilemmas are presented by the case study, and how these issues might be informed by the theories. For this paper, you will need to choose two of the following theories to apply to the case study: Choose the 2 theories that the writer is comfortable with.
Theories:
· Universal Ethical Egoism
· Act Utilitarianism
· Rule Utilitarianism
· Care Ethics
· Intuitionism
· Divine Command Theory
· Kant’s Duty Ethics
· Ross’s Prima Facie Duties
· Nicomacean Virtue Ethics
· Confucian Role Ethics
The following is a guide for completing the written paper:
1. The introduction should identify the case study that you have chosen and the two theories you are going to apply to the case.
2. The first section of the body of the paper should detail the dilemmas presented by the case study. This is where you should provide some ‘facts’ around the case; this may involve discussing legislation, policy, empirical scientific/medical evidence, statistics, research papers etc. This will be the foundation of your ethical analysis.
3. The next section of the paper should analyse how your two theories apply to the case. This will include applying all components of each theory to the case study, the strengths and weaknesses of applying each theory to the case study, and providing consideration of the result of using each theory for all stakeholders impacted by the case study. You can conduct this analysis separately, or juxtapose both theories through the structure of the paper; you have creative license in expressing the analysis.
4. The final section of the paper should attempt to provide a feasible, workable, and ethical solution to the dilemma by synthesising the main arguments.
These 2 References must be used in this essay, and add an extra references of your own (total 6 academic references).
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/UNDAULawRw/2007/4.pdf
https://eprints.qut.edu.au/95429/1/Failed%20Voluntary%20Euthanasia%20Law%20Reform%20UNSWLJ.pdf