Download Lecture 6 Human Rights Right to life abortion and

Human Rights in
Contemporary Society
Right to Life: Abortion and
Euthanasia
Overview of Lecture
In today’s lecture we will consider:
• Abortion
• Euthanasia
• Debates surrounding the application of the right to
life in each of these areas.
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Right to Life
•Article 3
• Everyone has the right to life, liberty and
security
• But how is this exercised in relation to birth
and death?
• Who has the right to decide?
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Conceptualising the issue: moral
and ethical dimensions
• Key questions:
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How do we define life?
When does life begin?
What is the right to life?
Who has the right to decide?
• Personhood debate:
• Does having the potential for personhood give the
foetus human rights?
• A foetus is a human being
• Destroying a human life deliberately is unethical
• Abortion is unethical because it destroys a human life.
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When does life begin…
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Contrasting opinions on when life actually begins.
No definitive consensus…
When fertilisation takes place: sperm fertilises the egg?
At the implantation stage – around day 6 – day 9?
The ‘primitive streak’ – nervous system development?
After the twinning stage has passed – at around 13-15
days post fertilisation?
• Has reached a state of maturation when it would be
possible to survive outside of the womb?
• Upon birth?
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Abortion: statistics
• 28% of all pregnancies are unplanned
• 76 million unintended pregnancies occur each year in the
developed world; approx. 46 million end up in abortion
• 20 million abortions are ‘unsafe’ and result in the death
of 68,000 women
• In some developing countries death from unsafe abortion
(the only form available) can exceed 30% of all maternal
deaths (Latin America)
• WHO (2004) estimated that in Africa one woman dies of
abortion related complications for every 150 abortions
performed compared with one in 3,700 in developed
countries.
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Current GB Law
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Comes from the Abortion Act 1967 (a
private members bill from David Steel MP)
Allowed abortions up to 28 weeks
Consent of two doctors required
Updated Human Embryology and Human
Fertilisation Act 1990, which lowered the
top limit to 24 weeks
Abortions allowed after 24 weeks if there is
a ‘grave’ risk to the physical or mental
health of the mother
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Reproductive choice…
• Alston (1984) asserts that the right to an abortion should
reflect a woman’s rights to have control over her own
body. Failure to acknowledge this right means the law
fails to recognise half of humanity. Women should have
the right to reproductive self-determination.
• Tatyana Margolin (2008) in her discussion of Abortion as
a Human Right, states:
“Establishing abortion as a Human Right within
the universal human rights treaty system is
crucial to improving access and availability to
abortion, especially in those countries where
women’s rights are curtailed”
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Debates for and against…
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Both opponents of abortion (generally called prolife), and those who believe it is a right (generally
called pro-choice) both use the language of rights
to support their case
Often at stake in this debate is at what point a
foetus becomes a person, that is to say a
possessor of rights.
Does a foetus have rights?
Should it have rights?
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Rights of the unborn child
• Catholic Church (and many other religious
organisations) believe that one becomes a person at
ensoulment (this is often linked to the religious claim
that we do not have the right over life and death that
also prohibits contraception). Life begins when the
egg is fertilised by the sperm.
• At ensoulment (shortly after conception) a foetus is
a moral person distinct from the mother
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Other considerations
• Female selective abortion in Asia
• One child policy in China and abortion (inc.
forced).
• Abortion for a pregnancy resulting from rape
• Abortion for some form of disability
• Abortion as a form of contraception
• Abortion for multiple pregnancy (foetal
reduction)
• Impact on health
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On euthanasia
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Euthanasia
Euthanasia: derived from the Greek
word euthanatos
Good or pleasant death
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Euthanasia
• What is euthanasia?
• It is the deliberated killing of a person for the benefit
of that person.
• In most cases euthanasia is carried out because the
person who dies asks for it, but there are cases
called euthanasia where a person can’t make such
a request.
• Is it respect for autonomy?
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Forms of Euthanasia
• Active and passive euthanasia:
• In active euthanasia a person directly and
deliberately causes the patient’s death. e.g. injection
of potassium chloride (Direct)
• In passive euthanasia they just allow the patient to
die. e.g. withdrawal of treatment (Indirect)
QUESTION
• Is there a moral difference between letting someone
die and hastening someone’s death?
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Voluntary and Involuntary
Euthanasia
• Voluntary euthanasia occurs at the request of the
person who dies.
• Non-voluntary euthanasia occurs when the person is
unconscious or otherwise unable to make a meaningful
choice between living and dying, and an appropriate
person takes the decision on their behalf. (for example, a
baby, a person on a life support system or in a persistent
vegetative state (PVS) someone of extremely low
intelligence or suffering from dementia).
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Indirect Euthanasia and
Assisted Suicide
• Indirect euthanasia means providing treatment (usually
to reduce pain) that has the side effect of speeding the
patient’s death (Idea of double effect).
• Assisted suicide usually refers to cases where the
person who is going to die needs help to kill themselves
and asks for it.
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Religion and Euthanasia
• Death is one of the most important things that religions
deal with.
• Faiths offer meaning and explanations for death.
• Religions regard understanding death as vital to finding
meaning in human life.
• All faiths have strong views on euthanasia.
• Most religions disapprove of euthanasia.
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Arguments in support of
Euthanasia
• Human beings have the right to die when and
how they want to.
• A civilised society should allow people to die in
dignity and without pain, and should allow others
to help them do so if they cannot manage it on
their own.
• Our bodies are our own, and we should be
allowed to do what we want with them. Therefore
it is wrong to make anyone live longer than they
want.
• If suicide is not a crime – then euthanasia should
not be a crime.
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Arguments against
Euthanasia
• Religious opponents believe that the right to decide
when a person dies belongs to God.
• Other opponents fear that if euthanasia was made
legal, the laws regulating it would be abused, and
people would be killed who didn’t really want to die.
• The slippery slope.
• Euthanasia devalues lives.
• Opponents suggest that euthanasia sends the
message that it’s better to be dead than sick or
disabled.
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Cont’d…
• Euthanasia may not be in the best interests of
the patient. The diagnosis may be wrong and the
patient may not be terminally ill.
• Opponents of euthanasia claim that it prevents
proper palliative care for patients.
• Palliative care is physical, emotional and spiritual
care for a dying person when cure is not possible. It
includes compassion and support for family and
friends.
• Euthanasia also puts pressure on the vulnerable
who may feel they are a burden on others.
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Recent cases
• 2006: Assisted Dying Bill - blocked
• 2009: Clarification on Assisted Suicide Law
(England and Wales)
• Debbie Purdy case -
• 2010: End of Life Assistance Bill – rejected Scottish
Parliament
• 2012: Tony Nicklinson “Locked-in Syndrome”
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Moral Questions
• Euthanasia raises moral questions such as:
• Is it ever right for another person to end the life of a
terminally ill patient who is in severe pain or
enduring other suffering?
• If euthanasia is sometimes right, under what
circumstances is it right?
• Is there any moral difference between killing
someone and letting them die?
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Death
• Life has value only for so long as it has meaning for
the person whose life it is and respect for selfdetermination and autonomy should entitle a
competent person to decide for herself whether,
when and how she chooses to end her life.
(Keown, 1997, pp:233)
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Concluding thoughts…
• Where the Right to Life Does Not Apply
• There are many situations where individuals have
unsuccessfully tried to argue that the right to life applies.
• The right to life cannot be invoked to prevent a woman
from having a legal abortion.
• Under UK law it has also been held that the right to life
cannot be relied upon by a person who is terminally ill
and wishes to end their life.
• http://www.abouthumanrights.co.uk/right-life.html
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References
• Alston, P. (1984) Conjuring Up New Human Rights: A Proposal for
Quality Control, American Journal International Law. 607, 614
• Battin, M.(2005) Ending Life. Ethics and the way we die. Oxford:
Oxford University Press
• Davis, A.J. Aroskar, M.A. Liaschenko, J. and Drought, T.S. (1997)
Ethical Dilemmas and Nursing Practice (4th Ed) London: Appleton
and Lange
• Dworkin, G. Frey,R.G. and Bok, S. (1998) Euthanasia and PhysicianAssisted Suicide. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
• Keown, J. (Ed) (1997) Euthanasia Examined Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press
• Keown, J. (2002) Euthanasia, Ethics and Public Policy An Argument
Against Legalisation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
• Margolin, A.T. (2008) Abortion as a Human Right. Women’s Rights
Law Reporter. 29 Women’s Rights L. Rep.77
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Additional sources of reading
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Assisted dying Q & A: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8270302.stm
http://www.carenotkilling.org.uk/
http://www.compassionindying.org.uk/
http://www.dignitasinternational.org/articles.aspx?aid=238
http://www.dignityindying.org.uk/
National Council for Palliative Care: http://www.ncpc.org.uk/
“Ireland 'should change abortion law' after woman's death. Member
of Irish Labour party says country's almost total ban on abortions
must be relaxed” (The Guardian, 2012;
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/nov/14/ireland-abortion-lawwoman-death)
• “Ireland: Abortion issue must be clarified by Irish government
without delay” (Amnesty International, 2012)
• Forced abortion: China forced abortion photo sparks outrage
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-18435126
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