The four principles
Tom Beauchamp and James Childress proposed respect for autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence and justice in Principles of Biomedical Ethics. Debates over euthanasia and abortion arise where these principles conflict.
Types of euthanasia
- Active: directly causing death, for example by lethal injection
- Passive: withholding or withdrawing life-sustaining treatment
- Voluntary, non-voluntary, involuntary: at the patient's request, when the patient cannot express a wish, or against the patient's wish
- Physician-assisted dying: the patient takes medication prescribed by a doctor
Arguments on euthanasia
Supporters stress self-determination and relief from unbearable suffering. Opponents cite the sanctity of life, slippery-slope pressure on vulnerable groups and palliative care as an alternative. Korea permits only withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment for dying patients under its 2016 Act, not active euthanasia.
The abortion debate
The central issues are the moral status of the fetus and bodily autonomy. Judith Jarvis Thomson (1971) argued with her violinist thought experiment that even if the fetus is a person, a woman is not obliged to sustain it with her body. Don Marquis (1989) argued abortion is wrong because it deprives the fetus of a future like ours.
Korean law
In April 2019 the Constitutional Court held the criminal abortion provisions incompatible with the Constitution. The legislature missed the end-2020 deadline, so the provisions lapsed in 2021, leaving a legislative gap.
References
- Beauchamp, T. L., & Childress, J. F. (2019). Principles of Biomedical Ethics (8th ed.). Oxford University Press.
- Thomson, J. J. (1971). A defense of abortion. Philosophy & Public Affairs, 1(1), 47-66.
- Marquis, D. (1989). Why abortion is immoral. The Journal of Philosophy, 86(4), 183-202.
- Rachels, J. (1975). Active and passive euthanasia. New England Journal of Medicine, 292(2), 78-80.
- 헌법재판소 2019. 4. 11. 2017헌바127 결정.