Moral Permissibility of Euthanasia- A Bangladesh Context
Survival is obviously important, but sometimes, under particular circumstances, life can become miserable, difficult, or intolerable; at that point, survival can seem like a punishment or misfortune. A patient who is in a vegetative state, unable to sustain life with dignity, and who is suffering f...
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Bangladesh Bioethics Society
2024-11-01
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| Series: | Bangladesh Journal of Bioethics |
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| Online Access: | https://bjbio.bioethics.org.bd/index.php/BJBio/article/view/105 |
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| author | Nilufa Yasmin |
| author_facet | Nilufa Yasmin |
| author_sort | Nilufa Yasmin |
| collection | DOAJ |
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Survival is obviously important, but sometimes, under particular circumstances, life can become miserable, difficult, or intolerable; at that point, survival can seem like a punishment or misfortune. A patient who is in a vegetative state, unable to sustain life with dignity, and who is suffering from a terminal illness, has freedom to choose between life and death. The practice of "mercy killing," or euthanasia is an ongoing debate in the discussion of medical ethics. When it comes to making euthanasia decisions for their incompetent patients, medical practitioners are faced with a problem. The moral dilemma of whether something is morally acceptable or not is moral in nature. The "end of life" issue is related to euthanasia should be legally acceptable under specific circumstances, such as when a patient is terminally sick, death is imminent, and treatment is unsuitable and ineffective. It is morally acceptable when a patient makes the autonomous decision to end his life or asks someone else to help him. In order to make an informed decision, the patient needs to be thoroughly informed about the diagnosis and prognosis of an incurable, deadly condition. However, in the context of a Muslim-majority population, where any argument for the legality of suicide (and, by extension, physician-assisted suicide) would be automatically rejected as contrary to Islamic moral and jurisprudential principles, this is an extraordinary request for the health service authorities of a developing country to consider. This paper discusses mainly non-voluntary active euthanasia. The discussion is conducted by giving a case study from Bangladesh. The situation in Bangladesh will also be examined in the paper's last section with regard to the permissibility of active euthanasia, specifically whether it can be done in our state given the socio-cultural-religious practices that are now in place.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-68633c5eec48471a9928c8108e31a6fc |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2226-9231 2078-1458 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | Bangladesh Bioethics Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Bangladesh Journal of Bioethics |
| spelling | doaj-art-68633c5eec48471a9928c8108e31a6fc2025-02-11T13:26:56ZengBangladesh Bioethics SocietyBangladesh Journal of Bioethics2226-92312078-14582024-11-0115310.62865/bjbio.v15i3.105Moral Permissibility of Euthanasia- A Bangladesh ContextNilufa Yasmin0Department of Philosophy, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Bangladesh Survival is obviously important, but sometimes, under particular circumstances, life can become miserable, difficult, or intolerable; at that point, survival can seem like a punishment or misfortune. A patient who is in a vegetative state, unable to sustain life with dignity, and who is suffering from a terminal illness, has freedom to choose between life and death. The practice of "mercy killing," or euthanasia is an ongoing debate in the discussion of medical ethics. When it comes to making euthanasia decisions for their incompetent patients, medical practitioners are faced with a problem. The moral dilemma of whether something is morally acceptable or not is moral in nature. The "end of life" issue is related to euthanasia should be legally acceptable under specific circumstances, such as when a patient is terminally sick, death is imminent, and treatment is unsuitable and ineffective. It is morally acceptable when a patient makes the autonomous decision to end his life or asks someone else to help him. In order to make an informed decision, the patient needs to be thoroughly informed about the diagnosis and prognosis of an incurable, deadly condition. However, in the context of a Muslim-majority population, where any argument for the legality of suicide (and, by extension, physician-assisted suicide) would be automatically rejected as contrary to Islamic moral and jurisprudential principles, this is an extraordinary request for the health service authorities of a developing country to consider. This paper discusses mainly non-voluntary active euthanasia. The discussion is conducted by giving a case study from Bangladesh. The situation in Bangladesh will also be examined in the paper's last section with regard to the permissibility of active euthanasia, specifically whether it can be done in our state given the socio-cultural-religious practices that are now in place. https://bjbio.bioethics.org.bd/index.php/BJBio/article/view/105Euthanasia, Moral Permissibility, Bangladesh, Physician Assisted Suicide, Slippery Slope, Islamic Law. |
| spellingShingle | Nilufa Yasmin Moral Permissibility of Euthanasia- A Bangladesh Context Bangladesh Journal of Bioethics Euthanasia, Moral Permissibility, Bangladesh, Physician Assisted Suicide, Slippery Slope, Islamic Law. |
| title | Moral Permissibility of Euthanasia- A Bangladesh Context |
| title_full | Moral Permissibility of Euthanasia- A Bangladesh Context |
| title_fullStr | Moral Permissibility of Euthanasia- A Bangladesh Context |
| title_full_unstemmed | Moral Permissibility of Euthanasia- A Bangladesh Context |
| title_short | Moral Permissibility of Euthanasia- A Bangladesh Context |
| title_sort | moral permissibility of euthanasia a bangladesh context |
| topic | Euthanasia, Moral Permissibility, Bangladesh, Physician Assisted Suicide, Slippery Slope, Islamic Law. |
| url | https://bjbio.bioethics.org.bd/index.php/BJBio/article/view/105 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT nilufayasmin moralpermissibilityofeuthanasiaabangladeshcontext |