Rethinking Voluntary Euthanasia

Byron J. Stoyles,  Sorin Costreie

The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy
The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy

Abstract
Our goal in this article is to explicate the way, and the extent to which, euthanasia can be voluntary from both the perspective of the patient and the perspective of the health care providers involved in the patient’s care. More significantly, we aim to challenge the way in which those engaged in ongoing philosophical debates regarding the morality of euthanasia draw distinctions between voluntary, involuntary, and nonvoluntary euthanasia on the grounds that drawing the distinctions in the traditional manner (1) fails to reflect what is important from the patient’s perspective and (2) fails to reflect the significance of health care providers’ interests, including their autonomy and integrity.


Stoyles BJ, Costreie S. Rethinking Voluntary Euthanasia. J Med Philos (2013) 38 (6): 674-695. doi: 10.1093/jmp/jht045