An Accident Victim Has Been Kept on a Respirator, Heart

Multiple Choice

An accident victim has been kept on a respirator, heart beating, in a deep coma. Doctors now say the victim is brain dead, and the family tells the doctors to remove the respirator. Without respiration the patient's heart stops. Is the act of removing the respirator euthanasia and, if so, what type? It is

A) not euthanasia, because the victim was considered dead.
B) not euthanasia, because the victim's heart might have continued beating after the respirator was
Removed.
C) active euthanasia, because the person was only considered dead when the heart stopped beating, and this action caused the heart to stop.
D) passive euthanasia, because the person was only considered dead when the heart stopped beating, but this action was not the real cause of death.