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J Med Ethics 2006;32:256-259 doi:10.1136/jme.2005.013110
  • Clinical ethics

Boundaries, borders, and limits. A phenomenological reflection on ethics and euthanasia

  1. C Leget
  1. Correspondence to:
 Carlo Leget
 PhD, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Department of Ethics, Philosophy and History of Medicine, 232 EFG, PO Box 9101, NL - 6500 HB Nijmegen, the Netherlands; c.leget{at}efg.umcn.nl
  • Received 9 June 2005
  • Accepted 25 July 2005
  • Revised 21 July 2005

Abstract

The subject of euthanasia divides both people and nations. It will always continue to do so because the arguments for and against this issue are intrinsically related to each other. This paper offers an analysis of the interrelation of the arguments, departing from a phenomenology of boundaries. From the participant perspective the boundary of euthanasia appears as a limit. From a helicopter perspective it appears as a border. Reflecting on both perspectives they turn out to complement each other: the positive effects of the former correspond to the negative effects of the latter. In order to see how this interrelation of viewpoints works out in the case of euthanasia a paradigmatic case is analysed from the perspective of the patient, the doctor, and the family. This phenomenological analysis does not directly lead to normative conclusions. It helps by both paying attention to, and dealing with, the complexity of the issue with intellectual honesty.

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