Euthanasia Case for Discussion - Utilitarian Analysis

Dave and Sue Shaw had been high school sweethearts. They had been married for fourteen years. They had two children aged ten and twelve. They were middle class. Both were working to make payments on a new house and to save for the children's college education. At age thirty-nine Dave was diagnosed with an advanced case of pancreatic cancer. Doctors tried all known treatments including several experimental ones. Now all they could do was to make him comfortable with hospice care. The doctors estimated he would live four to seven more months. Dave was now fully rational. However, as time went by he would have to take increasing dosages of drugs to stand the pain. Dave had gone through all the various emotional stages that a terminally ill patient goes through. He had reached a phase of acceptance of his fate. Dave spent several hours with his minister and Sue finalizing his funeral arrangements.

Sue was under a great deal of stress and had difficulty sleeping. The family doctor prescribed some strong sleeping medication for her. The doctor pointedly warned Sue that more than three tablets would be lethal. Dave suggested that Sue give him all the tablets she had. He wanted to end his pain and suffering before it got any worse. He wanted to spare Sue and the children the agony of watching him go downhill further. He wanted them to remember him as the strong, smart, and loving father he had been. Dave also wanted to save the money beyond what was covered by their insurance for the kids' education. Sue resisted Dave's suggestion. He repeated his request twice a week for three weeks. Even before Dave was sick, he had made a living will stating that he wanted no extraordinary means used to sustain his life if he was ever terminally ill. Finally, Sue agreed. The family spent a very happy day together. Dave was even able to sit up long enough to play a few of the family's favorite sing-along songs on the piano. Before bedtime he read each of the children favorite stories from when they were little. Dave and Sue got ready for bed. Sue handed Dave the bottle of tablets. They said their goodbyes. Dave took the tablets and lay down. Within one hour he died. The attending physician listed pancreatic cancer as the cause of death on the death certificate. The funeral was conducted exactly as Dave had planned it.

1. Apply a quantitative act utilitarian approach. Did Sue do the right thing?

2. Apply a quantitative rule utilitarian approach. Did Sue do the right thing?

What are the differences between an act and a rule approach?

3. Would it have made any difference in the previous two analyses if you had used a qualitative approach? What would a qualitative approach have to consider in addition to what a quantitative approach considers?

Note: It is important to determine extent, i.e., who receives consequences.

4. How did the distinctions between active and passive euthanasia and voluntary and involuntary euthanasia play into your analyses?