Why Using Religious Arguments in the Euthanasia Discussion is Problematic
In discussions about assisted dying (euthanasia, assisted suicide), those who argue ‘against’ legalisation often reason from a religious angle, whereas those ‘in favour’ adopt a secular stance. The Dutch experience is more nuanced: here, euthanasia advocacy largely originated from protestant religious believers. In this contribution, I criticise the use of religious arguments favouring any specific position. Religion may provide a heuristic context to explore norms relevant in the discussion, and religion may help us formulate our personal stance. But when it comes to societal debates (often f... Mehr ...
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Dokumenttyp: | Artikel |
Erscheinungsdatum: | 2021 |
Reihe/Periodikum: | Revista Latinoamericana de Bioética, Vol 21, Iss 1 (2021) |
Verlag/Hrsg.: |
Editorial Neogranadina
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Schlagwörter: | Euthanasia / assisted dying / assisted suicide / religion / the Netherlands / Medical philosophy. Medical ethics / R723-726 / Ethics / BJ1-1725 |
Sprache: | Englisch Spanish Portuguese |
Permalink: | https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-28760587 |
Datenquelle: | BASE; Originalkatalog |
Powered By: | BASE |
Link(s) : | https://doi.org/10.18359/rlbi.5450 |
In discussions about assisted dying (euthanasia, assisted suicide), those who argue ‘against’ legalisation often reason from a religious angle, whereas those ‘in favour’ adopt a secular stance. The Dutch experience is more nuanced: here, euthanasia advocacy largely originated from protestant religious believers. In this contribution, I criticise the use of religious arguments favouring any specific position. Religion may provide a heuristic context to explore norms relevant in the discussion, and religion may help us formulate our personal stance. But when it comes to societal debates (often focusing on whether or not to legalise euthanasia), we should concentrate on legal, societal, empirical, and ethical arguments that are understandable to all.