Sterbehilfe: Welche Argumente zählen? Eine Befragung unter Marburger Jura- Medizin- und Theologie-Studierenden
Loading...
Files
Date
relationships.isAuthorOf
Publisher
Philipps-Universität Marburg
item.page.supervisor-of-thesis
Abstract
The discussion on the new law on "criminal liability for the commercial promotion of
suicide" of 06.11.2015 made it clear that euthanasia and its moral as well as legal
admissibility, continues to attract social interest and trigger a controversial discourse.
From a scientific point of view, many studies have so far focused mainly on the general
attitude regarding the legalization of active euthanasia and (physician) assisted
suicide.
The present doctoral thesis analyzed the moral evaluation of euthanasia in a collective
of law , theology and medical students by means of case vignettes describing in each
case the procedure of a doctor in the context of euthanasia. In addition, general
attitudes and personality traits (authoritarianism, conservatism, religiosity and selfefficacy)
as well as the arguments usually cited in the theoretical euthanasia debate
were examined for their influence on this moral assessment.
Despite the well-known restriction that it is not possible to conclude ethical
assumptions on the basis of empirical results, this procedure provided important
indications as to the influence of the various arguments. Thus, it was found that the
students of all disciplines largely rated active euthanasia and (physician) assisted
suicide in the context of the described case vignettes as morally inadmissible -
contrary to previous studies, which showed rather positive attitudes regarding a
possible legalization of euthanasia in various groups. It may be presumed that by the
use of case vignettes the situations in which euthanasia was performed became more
vivid and less abstract for the students, thus making their decision regarding the moral
assessment of euthanasia more restrictive. This effect should be taken into account in
further investigations on euthanasia.
6. Diskussion 101
Furthermore, it could be shown that of the arguments in this study, which have been
widely cited in the euthanasia debate, such as the prohibition of killing, respect for
patient autonomy and slippery slope concerns, some were particularly relevant for the
moral approval or rejection of (physician) assisted suicide and / or active euthanasia
by the students and in this regard more influential than general attitudes or
personality traits.
In line with the theoretical debate on euthanasia, the prohibition of killing and patient
autonomy in particular played a major role in the moral assessment of euthanasia. The
medical students also seemed to give palliative medicine a greater importance in
matters of end-of-life-care, although their importance as an "alternative" to
euthanasia is repeatedly emphasized in public debate.
The slippery slope argument, which is controversially discussed in public seemed to
have only a minor influence on the evaluation of the students. Whereas a rarely cited
argument in the theoretical debate of euthanasia, namely the possible burden for
doctors who perform or accompany euthanasia had a major impact. Therefore, this
argument should be given more consideration in the theoretical debate.
Overall, the influence of the arguments used in the theoretical discussion on
euthanasia for the moral evaluation of euthanasia in different groups of students was
examined and demonstrated for the first time in this dissertation.
Review
Metadata
Contributors
Supervisor:
Dates
Created: 2018Issued: 2018-11-12Updated: 2018-11-12
Faculty
Medizin
Publisher
Philipps-Universität Marburg
Language
ger
Data types
DoctoralThesis
Keywords
Assisted SuicidActive Euthanasia,
DFG-subjects
Beihilfe zur SelbsttötungTötung auf VerlangenSterbehilfe
DDC-Numbers
610
show more
Philipp, Hanna: Sterbehilfe: Welche Argumente zählen? Eine Befragung unter Marburger Jura- Medizin- und Theologie-Studierenden. : Philipps-Universität Marburg 2018-11-12. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17192/z2018.0435.