Ethics and assisted dying in the Republic of Ireland
McKeown O'Donovan, Annie
McKeown O'Donovan, Annie
Loading...
Repository DOI
Publication Date
2021-09-13
Type
Thesis
Downloads
Citation
Abstract
‘Ethics and Assisted Dying in the Republic of Ireland’ argues that active assistance in dying can be morally permissible in limited contexts. Where an individual is suffering from an irremediable chronic or terminal illness and is imminently dying (that is, expected to die within a period not exceeding six months), active assistance can be justified if the desire for such assistance is rational and enduring. By implication, active assistance in dying should also be legally permissible in Ireland. The thesis begins by setting the scene for this argument. Public inquiries concerning assisted death hinge on the interaction between conceptual matters and their practical implementation. The prominent concepts addressed in such inquiries are autonomy, the value of life, the doctrine of doing and allowing, the distinction between killing and letting die, the doctrine of double effect, and slippery slope arguments. These philosophical contentions will be addressed in this order, chapter by chapter. We will see that they inform one another, and this order brings a logical consistency to the path of argumentation. Following this, it is clear that assisted dying in the narrow context I propose, can be morally permissible and by implication legally permissible in Ireland, in accordance with the fine-tuned interpretation of concepts contained in this thesis. Finally, I offer recommendations for the implementation of safeguards surrounding assisted dying in Ireland.
Publisher
NUI Galway