Voluntary Euthanasia

Thanks bsh1. I will now defend my case. C1. Life is Valuable SC1. Sanctity of Life It should be obvious why life contains worth, thus being valuable, but nevertheless I shall indulge. Pro himself argues that humans have moral worth due to their dignity and ability to make conscious and rational decisions, of which animals and objects have a lower capability of doing. The fact that they contain autonomy and can self-determine affirms the claim that human life in particular holds value. In the canvas example, the prerequisite of the painting is the easel, and necessarily must be in order for the painting to be held up. It does not matter whether the easel has a practical net worth that is low, essentially less than the painting, because the existence of the painting depends on the existence of the easel. The fact that the very canvas is dependant upon something else adds value to what it is dependent on, for otherwise it would not be there. Now, we may consider the easel to have less worth from a practical point of view, but when considering all ethics it is logical to determine that the dependence of the canvas on the easel and not vice versa shows the added value of the easel. To put it into simple terms, when A causes B, we can't credit B when it is fully dependent on A. A deserves the credit and thus added value for creating B. We recognize that life is an end in itself when comprehending what the end goals an individual strives for. This is brought about by the premise that the life of a living entity is the ultimate goal of the actions of the living entity, with no further actions in mind. Everything one does retraces back to affect themselves in some way, making life the target of itself, thus an end in itself. The deontological system of treating people as ends to themselves doesn't necessarily warrant enforcing a set of strict rules. In a sense of freedom, one who chooses to do wrong can learn on their own what was immoral about their actions without being forced to do anything. Even so, rules don't necessarily disallow people from lying, stealing, etc. anyways, but rather impose consequences for doing such things. The difference between doing such a wrong and euthanasia is that you can't learn from dying. Once you choose to be euthanized, you can't gain any insight or continue to treat life as its own end or its own value, because it has been cut short. SC2. Devaluation of Life Life is, in essence, degraded in the sense that patients wish to not live life due to their own reasons. When the ill make this decision, it indicates that there probably is not much worthy of life to live when in a disabled state. Pro states that patients will die soon, no matter what, but this is also the reality for all people. If all people will die eventually, there is no sense in making guesses about what will happen when life can still be lived well even in a fallen state. C2. Best Interests My argument here isn't that a perfect knowledge of the future isn't needed for just any situations, but rather for ones that are related to the elimination of life. Of course there is no certainty that one won't run and trip, but both of those circumstances relate to casual day-to-day circumstances that will happen if they do, and we have no control over them. Tripping is different from euthanasia in the sense that it is accidental and less of a choice to make. It is better to have a perfect knowledge of one's future when going into euthanasia because there is no turning back, and when one can't be sure it is unethical to take risks in such heavy circumstances such as eugenics. If the alternative cannot be known, there's no reason to choose the choice that *might* be better according to one or two people. Doctors may not misdiagnose patients more often than not, but that isn't a reason to fully trust them. If I wanted to get heart surgery and had to choose between a surgeon with a 98% success rate or one with a 100% success rate, the former would not likely be chosen since even the slightest risk is involved. If the former was the only choice, it would still be hard to go with that one knowing that they have the potential to fail. Ill patients are less likely to think rationally when put under serious pain and given the full choice of their own death. It's not that these people are incapable of all rational thought, but not enough to be trusted with such a burden of the decision to have their life cut short. Whether a patient can make such decisions before being ill is irrelevant because they do not yet know what such pain would be like, and whether or not euthanasia is in their best interest. C3. Similitudes 1. This premise is only flawed when one can find a distinct difference between the two instances of death. If the two are practically the same, the moral justification of one but not the other is unsound. 2. Since euthanasia patients and suicidal people choose such outcomes over many of the same reasons (pain, depression, etc.), then the situations of the two are often similar. An ill patient may have a few months to live but a suicidal person may only be able to take life for a few months more before attempting their life more times. 3. Regulating the practice of penalizing suicide encouragement doesn't negate the fact that euthanasia patients can be pressured by family/friends to be eliminated in the same manner that suicidal people can be pressured by others. 4. The fact that the slippery slope is entirely possible and has actually happened (i.e. Netherlands) shows that it is a reality and a possible threat. If all the world accepted voluntary euthanasia as morally permissible, there is a likely chance that some countries would follow this slope and broaden the laws some more, which is an accurate prediction knowing the history of past laws. 5. Progression in the terms of this slope are undoubtedly bad. Law broadening would lead to the legalization of involuntary euthanasia, which Pro would agree is a violation of human dignity as it takes away one's choice to be euthanized. That'd be it. Pro's turn for the final round!