ACTIVE v PASSIVE EUTHANASIA

Euthanasia, derived from the Greek word "eu-thanatos" meaning simply "a good death", is an issue that challenges our hearts and our minds. This paper attempts to identify and clarify the active/passive distinction inherent in the debate on euthanasia, before concluding, through an analysis of writers such as Rachels and Foot, that the distinction is in itself morally important. Passive euthanasia is defined as allowing a patient to die by withholding treatment, while active euthanasia …

…it is wrong for Green to kill the clinical clerk. Foot's response to Rachels reveals that the distinction between killing and letting die can be morally relevant in some cases but not others. Therefore, Rachels' argument appears to be invalid: even though he may be correct that the distinction is morally irrelevant in the context of the case involving Smith and Jones, it does not follow from this that the distinction is always morally irrelevant.