الأبعاد الأخلاقية للموت الرحيم

Abstract

The issue of euthanasia is among the most researched and discussed topics in contemporary medical ethics. Its importance stems from the fact that it is not a new phenomenon in human history; rather, its roots extend back to antiquity. It has been the subject of extensive debate and growing interest due to its value and broad implications, particularly as it concerns the human being, and specifically the patient. Therefore, it raises a set of highly complex medical, philosophical, and legal difficulties. If the patient is the central figure, and in light of the sanctity of life and the suffering caused by illnesses that result in excruciating pain, then euthanasia becomes morally legitimate and permissible. This is because it offers the ultimate end to the patient's pain, misery, and despair. Thus, euthanasia presents ethical dimensions and perspectives for relieving the patient of incurable suffering, since death is their inevitable fate. Accordingly, we pose the following question: What are the ethical dimensions of euthanasia that make it a legitimate and permissible phenomenon from an ethical standpoint?