Discussion: Utilitarianism theory

Discussion board
Rachels’ first argument is that active euthanasia is as good as passive euthanasia because at the end of the day the patient will die anyway. While actively killing a patient is considered immoral, letting them die is on the other hand considered right as by the doctrine of euthanasia.
Utilitarianism theory has it that whether actions are morally right or wrong depends on their effects (Mandal, Ponnambath & Parija, 2016). According to Rachel, letting a patient to die and killing a patient are all the same because at the end of the day the patient will die, the only difference is the duration that one takes. In her argument, actively killing a patient aligns with the utilitarianism theory as opposed to passive euthanasia which on the other hand allows the patient to suffer until death contrary to utilitarianism which focuses on making the life better.
Rachels’ second argument is driven by the introduction of external factors that are used to arrive at the decision for euthanasia. The case of babies with Down’s syndrome and intestinal tract blockage highlights the ext...