한국윤리교육학회

In the discussion of Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide, the approach that bases itself on patient’s choice, is a way of bypassing the principle of nonmaleficence, which is closely linked to the ethical distintion of killing and allowing to die. The main difference between the concepts of voluntary active euthanasia and physician assisted suicide within active euthanasias, is just the role of the facilitators(doctors). Or it simply distinguishes the agent who causes the patient's death. Beauchamp argues that ‘refusals of treatment’ is the same as ‘requests of death’ in terms of individual autonomy, because an individual is a judge of his or her best interests. Brad Hooker also insists that voluntary active euthanasia could be allowed in law. He argues that this is a likely prospect because respect for individual autonomy is quite useful. Rule-Utilitarians say that social expected good of accepting rules respecting individual autonomy is surely great. When euthanasia is viewed as suicide, the discussion on euthanasia and PAS shifts to whether euthanasia is allowed on the grounds of respect for autonomy; or to the questions of whether the patient has justified reasons to be helped by others in order to realize an individual’s autonomous act of death.