Chapter
Active Voluntary Euthanasia: Opening Pandora’s Box (IN: Last Rights? Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia Debated, edited by M M Uhlmann)
Shewmon D A~~~~~~
The major argument opposing active euthanasia is examined. The author attempts to show that the slippery slope is not merely a theoretical possibility, but a present reality. It is argued that the practice of euthanasia will necessarily evolve along at least two dimensions simultaneously: the scope of indications (beginning with terminal illnesses & ending with euthanasia on demand) & the degree of voluntariness (beginning wilth voluntary euthanasia & ending with involuntary euthanasia for the benefit of others).