Citation

Bozzaro C. Theor. Med. Bioeth. 2018; 39(2): 111-122.

Affiliation

Albert-Ludwigs-Universitat, Freiburg, Germany. bozzaro@egm.uni-freiburg.de.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s11017-018-9436-1

PMID

29558003

Abstract

Physician-assisted dying (assisted suicide and euthanasia) is currently an intensely discussed topic in several countries. Despite differences in legislation and application, countries with end-of-life laws have similar eligibility criteria for assistance in dying: individuals must be in a hopeless situation and experience unbearable suffering. Hopelessness, as a basic aspect of the human condition, is a central topic in Albert Camus' philosophical work The Myth of Sisyphus, which addresses the question of suicide. Suffering in the face of a hopeless situation, and the way doctors approach this suffering, is the topic of his novel The Plague, which describes the story of a city confronted with a plague epidemic. In this paper, I draw philosophical and ethical conclusions about physician-assisted dying based on an analysis of central concepts in the work of Camus-specifically, those treated in The Myth of Sisyphus and The Plague. On the basis of my interpretation of Camus' work, I argue that hopelessness and unbearable suffering are useless as eligibility criteria for physician-assisted dying, given that they do not sufficiently elucidate where the line should be drawn between patients who should to be eligible for assistance and those who should not.

Language: en

Keywords

Albert Camus; Euthanasia; Hopelessness; Physician assisted dying; Unbearable suffering