Evaluating the argument

Is Lethal Injection Worse than Pulling the Plug? Evaluate and discuss the argument presented in this video.

Suppose that Tina wants to help relieve Jack’s awful pain and suffering, but feels uncomfortable carrying out his initial request to inject him with lethal drugs. Instead, she proposes taking a much more aggressive approach with his pain meds. Her plan is to boost his morphine dosage to levels that would more effectively manage his pain and suffering, although this would also significantly increase the risk of shutting down his respiration. While Jack still prefers the lethal injection, he’s willing to pursue Tina’s suggestion. He assumes that this would anyway result in the relatively quick and painless death that he seeks.

Ethically speaking, should Tina be permitted to increase Jack’s pain meds to such dangerously high levels?

Consider the following range of opinions on this question:

Of course Tina should be permitted to take this step. This isn’t even a case of euthanasia since all she’s really doing is compassionately managing Jack’s pain. Even if he ends up dying, it was a risk worth taking.
Tina should be permitted to take this step because, although it’s clearly a form of euthanasia, she is acting on good intentions. She’s just trying to care for Jack’s best interest in the most effective and compassionate way she can.
Tina should be prohibited from taking this step because, although she seems to have the best of intentions, by increasing the morphine dosage to such knowingly dangerous levels, Tina would be effectively engaging in active euthanasia, which is unethical.
Rather than playing these games with Jack’s morphine levels just because that approach feels less uncomfortable to her, Tina should focus on Jack and recognise that the best way to care for his overall well-being is to just carry out his initial request and give him the lethal injection. Anything else is just selfish.

Now, take some time - by yourself or with others - to reflect openly, yet critically, on the ethical considerations raised by the various perspectives, and determine where you stand on this issue. What do YOU think, and why?

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