Recent events have sparked a heated debate regarding end of life decisions and the moral law. Ethical questions surrounding end of life issues are concerns that those most of us living in the 21st century and beyond will have to face. The bioethical challenge is how to uphold dignity of human life standards in the face of an improving technology which is capable of conserving life much longer than in prior years, and of which it is reasonable to think will greatly improve over time. We are forced, then, to make fundamental moral distinctions about how aggressive we are to be in prolonging life. Some have adopted a “technological imperative” viz., that if we can conserve life we must conserve life. But when is enough enough? Is one who believes in intrinsic human value committed to indefinitely preserving human life in disregard of other factors?
Click here to read the full article (formerly published in the journal Bioethics).
