is the distinction between killing and letting die tenable

Is the distinction between killing and letting die tenable? Give your reasons. The extent to which this distinction can rightfully be considered morally significant, has been discussed by Michael Tooley1 and Judith Jarvis Thompson2. In its application to euthanasia the issue has been brought up across the world, numerous times: it is an important distinction whose nature is a point still hotly contested. The moral significance of the distinction lies at least partially in the …

…effects of two events are the same their difference is not morally different. Defending the proposition that the distinction is morally significant, deontologists point towards the causal nature of non-actions and actions, which suggests there is a moral difference. Hence, the distinction comes under attack, but yes it is tenable. 1 Michael Tooley Killing and Letting Die (1980) 2 J J Thompson Rights Restitution and Risk (Harvard UP Cambridge MA 1986) 3 The Bible Exodus 20 v13 (NIV 1997) 4 The Spectator Magazine 30/1/00