The Vatican Declaration on Euthanasia and Some Reflections on Christian Ethical Methodology

The Vatican Declaration on euthanasia is summarized & evaluated as a timely & well-argued contribution to bioethics, & praised for its departure from the doctrinaire style often found in Vatican moral instructions. Special attention is paid to its distinction between suicide & sacrifice of one’s life, as implying that altruism has a distinctive ethical importance with which typical consequentialist approaches are unable to come to terms.