Deck 10: Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide

Question 1

According to the doctrine of double effect,a doctor's giving a dying,pain-racked patient a large dose of morphine with the intention of easing her pain (while knowing the act has the side effect of expediting her death)is:

A)impermissible.
B)neither permissible nor impermissible.
C)dependent on the level of pain.
D)permissible.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

If you believe that there is no moral difference between killing someone and letting someone die,you might reason that:

A)active and passive euthanasia are not morally equivalent.
B)in neither active nor passive euthanasia is the patient's death caused.
C)in both active and passive euthanasia the patient's death is caused, but this has no moral significance.
D)in both active and passive euthanasia the patient's death is caused, and they are therefore morally equivalent.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

If you were an American physician who accepted the active-passive distinction,you would also likely believe that:

A)physician-assisted suicide is permissible in extreme cases.
B)passive euthanasia is always wrong.
C)whereas active euthanasia is always wrong, in some cases passive euthanasia may be permissible.
D)whereas euthanasia is always wrong, in some cases physician-assisted suicide may be permissible.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

In ______,others besides the patient choose euthanasia for her because she is not competent and has left no instructions regarding her end-of-life preferences.

A)involuntary euthanasia
B)nonvoluntary euthanasia
C)passive euthanasia
D)active euthanasia

Question 5

In ______,the patient requests or agrees to euthanasia.

A)active euthanasia
B)passive euthanasia
C)nonvoluntary euthanasia
D)voluntary euthanasia

Question 6

______ is allowing someone to die by NOT doing something-by withholding or withdrawing measures necessary for sustaining life.

A)Passive-active euthanasia
B)Passive euthanasia
C)Nonvoluntary euthanasia
D)Active euthanasia

Question 7

Directly or indirectly bringing about the death of another person for that person's sake is known as:

A)benign death.
B)suicide.
C)sacrifice.
D)euthanasia.

Question 8

______ is the killing of a person by the person's own hand with the help of a physician.

A)Active nonvoluntary suicide
B)Passive voluntary suicide
C)Involuntary physician suicide
D)Physician-assisted suicide

Question 9

The idea that an individual is dead when all brain functions permanently stop is called the ______ notion of death.

A)conventional
B)vegetative
C)whole-brain
D)higher brain

Question 10

An argument against euthanasia asserting that mercy killing would involve treating persons as mere things and of no more value than of a beast is:

A)act-utilitarian.
B)emotivist.
C)rule-utilitarian.
D)Kantian.

Question 11

According to the dominant reading of natural law theory,euthanasia is wrong primarily because:

A)it amounts to using a person as a means and not as an end.
B)it always results in less overall happiness.
C)we have a moral duty to preserve life.
D)scripture condemns it.

Question 12

The principle of autonomy (the right of self-determination)can be used to argue for:

A)end-of-life self-determination in the form of active euthanasia.
B)a ban on active euthanasia.
C)the Roman Catholic view of active euthanasia and suicide.
D)restrictions on autonomy for dying patients.

Question 13

______ involves taking a direct action to kill someone,to carry out a mercy killing.

A)Involuntary euthanasia
B)Passive euthanasia
C)Active euthanasia
D)Nonvoluntary euthanasia

Question 14

______ euthanasia is mercy killing at the patient's request.

A)Involuntary
B)Active voluntary
C)Active nonvoluntary
D)Passive nonvoluntary

Question 15

If someone argues that euthanasia is permissible because it maximizes happiness,she would be taking a ______ view of the matter.

A)natural law
B)utilitarian
C)Kantian
D)medical

Question 16

It is likely that active euthanasia would be used at least occasionally in a hospice guided by:

A)rule-utilitarianism.
B)act-utilitarianism.
C)natural law theory.
D)the doctrine of double effect.

Question 17

The principle of ______ says that if we are in a position to ease the agony of another and we can do so without excessive cost to ourselves,we should try to render aid.

A)autonomy
B)beneficence
C)utility
D)justice

Question 18

A key premise in the argument for active euthanasia is that the right of self-determination includes the right of competent persons to decide the manner of their dying.This premise is:

A)accepted by virtually all parties to the euthanasia debate.
B)clearly false.
C)incoherent.
D)controversial.

Question 19

Consider this rule-utilitarian argument against legalizing euthanasia: Passing a law to permit active voluntary euthanasia would inevitably lead to abuses such as more frequent use of nonvoluntary euthanasia and unnecessary killing; therefore,no such law should be passed.Such an argument is characterized as:

A)abductive.
B)Kantian.
C)slippery slope.
D)equivocation.

Question 20

Nowadays machines can keep an individual's heart and lungs functioning long after the brain permanently and completely shuts down.Thus we can have an individual whose organs are mechanically operated while he is in a coma or persistent vegetative state.To some,these facts suggest that the:

A)conventional notion of death is still adequate.
B)conventional notion of death is inadequate.
C)cessation of breathing and blood flow are not signs of death.
D)conventional notion of death has always seemed inadequate.

Question 21

It is the case that ______ is legal and widely believed to be morally acceptable.

A)active euthanasia
B)physician-assisted suicide
C)involuntary euthanasia
D)passive euthanasia

Question 22

Suppose legal guidelines have been adopted to allow parents to give consent for children to be killed if they are suffering from severe pain and are terminally ill.The moral principle of ______ could be used to argue for the guidelines,and the principle of ______ could be used to argue against them.

A)beneficence; right to life
B)utility; autonomy
C)autonomy; right to extraordinary means to save a life
D)justice; triage

Question 23

In 2002,the eighty-six-year-old war hero Admiral Chester W.Nimitz Jr.,in a suicide pact with his eighty-nine-year-old wife,ended his life with an overdose of sleeping pills.According to a news report,"Having lost 30 pounds from a stomach disorder,suffering from congestive heart failure and in constant back pain,the admiral had been determined to dictate the hour of his death.His wife,who suffered from osteoporosis so severe her bones were breaking,had gone blind.She had no desire to live without her husband." Assuming this is an accurate account of Admiral Nimitz's motivations,to what moral principle did he appeal to justify taking his own life?

A)justice
B)beneficence
C)right to life
D)autonomy

Question 24

After Hurricane Katrina devastated Louisiana,a hospital in New Orleans was left without power or water for days as floodwaters surrounded it.Food was running low,conditions inside the hospital were deplorable,and patients were dying.Later some people voiced suspicions that the hospital medical staff had considered euthanizing some of the patients.Suppose doctors at the hospital did perform active euthanasia on some patients (a supposition that may very well be false).And suppose the doctors argued that they were justified in using active nonvoluntary euthanasia on unconscious DNR patients.What moral principles could they most plausibly use to make their case?

A)beneficence and utility
B)justice and a right to know
C)autonomy and respect for life
D)self-determination and respect for persons

Question 25

Some opponents of active euthanasia argue that euthanasia is uncalled for; a dying patient in the grip of unimaginable pain,for example,does not have to be killed to escape her agony.Modern medicine offers dying patients unprecedented levels of pain relief.A common reply to this argument is:

A)although it is possible to manage even severe pain well, too often pain is not well managed.
B)in arguments about euthanasia, pain is irrelevant.
C)although it is possible to manage even severe pain well, physicians do not try to.
D)pain is a fact of life that patients must learn to live with.