Letting die

In non-consequentialist ethical thought, there is a moral distinction between killing and letting die. Whereas killing involves intervention, letting die involves withholding care (for example, in passive euthanasia), ^{[1] [2]} or other forms of inaction (such as in the Trolley problem).

Also in medical ethics there is a moral distinction between euthanasia and letting die. Legally, patients often have a right to reject life-sustaining care, in areas that do not permit euthanasia. ^[3]

See also

• Vacco v. Quill
• Right to die
• Do not resuscitate
• Rudy Linares case

References

1. Thomson, Judith Jarvis; The Hegeler Institute (1976). Sugden, Sherwood J. B. (ed.). "Killing, Letting Die, and the Trolley Problem" . Monist (in German). 59 (2): 204–217. doi:10.5840/monist197659224. ISSN   0026-9662. PMID   11662247.
2. Foot, Philippa (1967). "The Problem of Abortion and the Doctrine of the Double Effect". Oxford Review. 5: 5–15.
3. aafp.org

Further reading

• Bennett Jonathan (1993), 'Negation and abstention: two theories of allowing' in B. Steinbock and A. Norcross (eds.), Killing and Letting Die, pp. 230-56, New York: Fordham University Press.