Citation

Steffen L. Christ. Bioeth. 2021; 27(3): 228-249.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Journal of Christian Bioethics, Publisher Oxford University Press)

DOI

10.1093/cb/cbab012

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Opposition to physician-assisted suicide is widespread in Christian ethics. However, on a topic as controversial as physician-assisted suicide, no one can reasonably speak for "the Christian"perspective. Natural-law and, specifically, just-war thinking are claimed in the Christian tradition, yet the natural-law contribution to a Christian ethical analysis of physician-assisted suicide requires explanation and defense. Natural-law ethical theory affirms the central role of reason in moral thinking and provides a theoretical resource in contemporary ethics to assist in analyzing specific moral issues, problems, and conflicts. This essay seeks to demonstrate how just-war thinking, derived from natural-law tradition, allows movement from the theoretical world of natural-law theory to the practical world of normative ethics. Here the case is made that the just-war model of ethics helps elucidate the moral problematic involved in physician-assisted suicide while clarifying direction on this particularly thorny and controversial problem. © 2021 The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press, on behalf of The Journal of Christian Bioethics, Inc. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Language: en

Keywords

physician-assisted suicide; Christian ethics; just war; natural law