Political Science 410/511

"Euthanasia and The Right to Life"

 

Fall Term, 1996-97


Course Outline:

This seminar will explore issues of rights, and especially the idea of a right to life, in the light of some of the issues raised in the recent controversies over euthanasia and assisted suicide. The focus will be juridical. The seminar will not be about euthanasia as such, but rather will use the issue to explore one dimension of the euthanasia debate; namely, whether persons may any rights of control over the terms of their own lives, how such rights arise and might best be justified, and what such rights might imply. Hence there will be a great deal about euthanasia and assisted suicide (including the court decisions in Cruzan and Rodriguez) but there will also be a great deal about the nature and justification of rights in general.

The course will be conducted as a seminar. Students will be expected to contribute actively in discussions and the seminar will be organized in part around the presentation of student papers.

Three essays will be required in the course: a short essay (5-7 pp) to be presented as a seminar paper, a second essay of the same format which will be due during the term, and a somewhat longer paper (7-9 pp) due at the end of the term. Students will also be expected to prepare brief digests (1-2 pp) of the readings each week.

Prerequisite: POLS 210 (or equivalent).

 

Readings:

Due to the unavailablity of reading materials, it will be necessary for seminar participants to make frequent use of a collection of articles in the department library on the 12th floor. One text -- B. Steinbock and A. Norcross, Killing and Letting Die (Fordham) -- has been ordered for the course but it will apparently not be available until mid-January.

 

Grades*

Essays: (3 @ equal weight) 80%

Commentary 10%

Oral contributions 10%

*The reading digests -- which must be submitted each week before the seminar -- will be graded only as satisfactory/ unsatisfactory.

Graduate Students: The course will be taught as a combined undergraduate (410) and graduate (511) course. Graduate students will not be expected to do extra work: they will be expected to do the same work better.

 

Schedule

wks 1-4: Preliminaries: legal cases (Latimer, Cruzan & Rodriguez) + the moral debate

wks 5-8: rights: is there a right to life and can it justify euthanasia/ assisted suicide?

wk 9-13: back to the euthanasia literature: when, where, how, and why?

 

Essay Requirements

All essays should be terse, analytical, and "positional" -- arguing a definite thesis in relation to some aspect of the readings. Students are encouraged to develop their own views in these essays -- eg, by contesting a specific claim made in the readings, or by arguing a rival thesis on the topic, or (in certain cases) by writing a critical response to a fellow student in the seminar. The only requirement is that the essay argue a specific and explicitly stated thesis ("In this essay I will argue that... ").


TOPICS & READINGS

All readings are from the course reader (in the 12th floor library) except for those indicated as from either Locke or Steinbock and Norcross. Works marked with an asterisk (*) should be digested.

 

PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS: THE LAW & MORALITY OF EUTHANASIA

 

Jan 6: Introduction: The Latimer Case

Jan 13: US Cases: Quinlan, Cruzan

Steinbock & Norcross: essay 1 (Quinlan)*

Steinbock & Norcross: essay 2 (Rehnquist majority opinion in Cruzan) *

Other judgements in Cruzan (O'Connor & Scalia* concurring; Brennan & Stevens, dissenting) Dworkin, "The Right to Death"*

Jan 20: The Rodriguez Case:

Rodriguez v. British Columbia (Attorney General), [1993] 3 S.C.R. 519

Nb: this reading is long. It can be found in the course reader or downloaded (www.droit.umontreal.ca/). For purposes of analysis, separate the equality issue raised by Lamer from the others raised by Sopinka, McLachlin and Cory.

recommended:

Gentles, Euthanasia

Birnie and Rodriguez, Uncommon Will

Jan 27: Moral Debates, Religious Issues / Rodriguez (cont'd)

Gormally, "A Non-Utilitarian Case Against Voluntary Euthanasia" *

Smoker, "Rejoinder to Gormally" *

Kamisar, "Euthanasia Legislation: Some Non-Religious Objections" *

Wolf, "Gender, Feminism and Death" *

recommended: Williams, "Rejoinder to Kamisar"

Singer, "Unsanctifying Life"

Bender, " A Feminist Analysis of Physician Assisted Dying"

 

RIGHTS: IS THERE A NATURAL RIGHT TO LIFE?

Feb 3: : Rights / Self-Ownership

Sumner, "The Analysis of Rights" (The Moral Foundation of Rights, ch 2) *

Nozick , "Distributive Justice" *

recommended: Cohen, Self-Ownership, Freedom and Equality

Lyons, Rights

Miller, Nature, Justice and Rights in Aristotle's Politics, ch 4 Wellman, A Theory of Rights

Feb 10 Locke (1): Secular v Theological Foundations

Simmons, The Lockean Theory of Rights, ch 1 *

Feinberg , "The Nature and Value of Rights" *

Aquinas, Selections from ST II.II 64

Locke, Second Treatise, chs 1-2, 4-5 (not in reader)

Feb 17: Reading Week

 

Feb 24: Locke (2): Natural Law and Natural Rights

Simmons, pp 68-102 (ch 2, sec'ns 1-4) *. Skim section 2.5 (pp 102-120)

Gewirth, "The Basis and Content of Human Rights" *

Locke, Second Treatise, chs 1-2, 4-5 (not in reader)

recommended:

Strauss, Natural Right and History

Readings on rights for final seminar

 

EUTHANASIA & THE RIGHT TO LIFE

 

Mar 3: Active v Passive Euthanasia

Steinbock & Norcross: essays 4-9 (Tooley, Steinbock, Rachels, Sullivan Rachels, Sullivan) *

recommended:

Steinbock & Norcross: essay 3 (Fletcher)

 

Mar 10: Is There A Right to Die? When is Killing Justified?

Foot, "Euthanasia" *

Buchanan-Jonsen-Macklin (Buchanan, "Intending Death" *; Jonsen, "Criteria" *; Macklin, "What Makes Intentional Killing Unjustified? *")

Mar 17: Contrast: Abortion

Brody-Thomson, (Brody, "Withdrawal" *; Thomson, "Killing & Letting Die" *)

Thomson, "A Defence of Abortion" *

Brody, "Opposition to Abortion: A Human Rights Approach"

Steinbock & Norcross: essay 21 ( Foot) *

Mar 24: Is Consent Necessary? Scarce Resources, Infanticide & The Latimer Case

Brandt, "Defective Newborns" *

Noble decision on the Latimer constitutional exemption *

Gillon-Daniels (Gillon, "Conserve Resources" *; Daniels, "Conserve Resources" *)

Mar 31: Killing and Letting Die, The Doctrine of Double Effect

Steinbock & Norcross: essays 16, 20-21 (Foot,* Quinn,* McMahan*)

Aquinas, article 7, from "Selections from ST II.II 64"

recommended:

Steinbock & Norcross: essays 12, 13, 15, 18-19

 

Apr 7: Is Euthanasia a (Natural) Right?

Husak, "Why There are No Human Rights" *

Gewirth "Why There are Human Rights" *

Pocklington, "Against Inflating Human Rights" *

recommended:

Hart, "Are There Any Natural Rights?"

Readings for Locke (2).

 

Final Paper DUE: Thurs, April 9th.