Abstract
Debates on euthanasia (or �mercy killing�) have been a concern in moral, philosophical, legal, theological, cultural and sociological discourse for centuries. The topic of euthanasia inspires a variety of strong views of which the �slippery slope� argument is one. The latter warns that the principle(s) underlying any ethical issue (including euthanasia) may be distorted. Scholars� views on euthanasia are influenced mainly by cultural, personal, political and religious convictions. In South Africa, the issue of euthanasia has arisen from time to time, but the question of whether it should be legalised was not seriously considered until it recently attracted attention because of a particular case, that of Cape Town advocate Robin StranshamFord. Although euthanasia is still illegal (this is because the Stransham-Ford ruling is confined to this particular case only), as stated in the ratio decidendi by Judge Hans Fabricius of the High Court in Pretoria, the Court granted leave to appeal its April 2015 judgement regarding euthanasia in the application lodged by Stransham-Ford. In considering the contentious nature of the issue of euthanasia, this article adopts a multidisciplinary approach which includes historical, legal, theological, philosophical, theoretical and analytic frameworks, discussing euthanasia from philosophical and theological perspectives, in particular. We conclude by recommending that the subject of applied ethics, which helps to educate citizens about contemporary moral problems such as euthanasia, be introduced at school level. Exposing young people to the debates around thorny issues such as this would familiarise them with the discourse, encourage them to engage with it and empower them as mature citizens to make informed, reasonable decisions, obviating confusion and conflict which might otherwise arise. The problems surrounding the issue of euthanasia are multidimensional and have the capacity to polarise the nation and destroy families.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The article challenges government tendencies to decide on its own to make policy decisions on which society does not have input; thus against the Batho Pele principle of participation. We suggest that applied ethics be introduced earlier at the school level and be carried onto tertiary education to ensure effective citizen participation.
Highlights
According to Kuhse (1993:294), the word ‘euthanasia’ is derived from two Greek words, eu, which means good, and thanatos, the literal meaning of which is death
The idea of a good death may mean different things to different people, but generally speaking, we take it for granted that reasonable persons would agree that a good death means dying painlessly and free of stress
We further argue that euthanasia is a philosophical, theological, sociological, psychological, political, economic or legal matter and a phenomenological issue and as such needs to be discussed in the public domain
Summary
According to Kuhse (1993:294), the word ‘euthanasia’ is derived from two Greek words, eu, which means good, and thanatos, the literal meaning of which is death. Benatar, Benatar and Abratt (1997:2) take this particular point to a much higher level when they argue that terminal illness should be interpreted disjunctively with ‘intractable and unbearable illness’ In other words, this argument suggests that in a case where euthanasia is permitted to those whose death is imminent, it would be unjust to deny it to patients suffering chronic conditions without treatment or any possibility of cure. This argument suggests that in a case where euthanasia is permitted to those whose death is imminent, it would be unjust to deny it to patients suffering chronic conditions without treatment or any possibility of cure These authors write: Intractable and unbearable illness [as opposed to ‘terminal illness’] means a bodily disorder that (1) cannot be cured or successfully palliated, and (2) that causes such severe suffering that death is preferable to continued life. These authors write: Intractable and unbearable illness [as opposed to ‘terminal illness’] means a bodily disorder that (1) cannot be cured or successfully palliated, and (2) that causes such severe suffering that death is preferable to continued life. (Benatar et al 1997:2)
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