Is medical aid in dying discriminatory?

In Discrimination Against the Dying, Philip Reed argues, among other things, that ‘right to die laws (euthanasia and assisted suicide) also exhibit terminalism when they restrict eligibility to the terminally ill’.1 Additionally, he suggests ‘the availability of the option of assisted death only for the terminally ill negatively influences the terminally ill who wish to live by causing them to doubt their choice’.1 I argue that on scrutiny, neither of these two points hold. First, we routinely limit a course of treatment to only those for whom we believe the treatment might provide a benefit. Typically, we do not think hastening death provides benefit when an individual is not experiencing a terminal illness. Thus, I conclude, either all treatments are discriminatory, or medical aid in dying is not. Second, I argue that permitting individuals to refuse or remove life sustaining care may very well cause...

Source: Journal of Medical Ethics - January 23, 2024 Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Riddle, C. A. Tags: Commentary Source Type: research