What makes killing wrong? Academic Article uri icon

Overview

abstract

  • What makes an act of killing morally wrong is not that the act causes loss of life or consciousness but rather that the act causes loss of all remaining abilities. This account implies that it is not even pro tanto morally wrong to kill patients who are universally and irreversibly disabled, because they have no abilities to lose. Applied to vital organ transplantation, this account undermines the dead donor rule and shows how current practices are compatible with morality.

publication date

  • January 19, 2012

Research

keywords

  • Brain Death
  • Homicide
  • Persons with Disabilities
  • Tissue and Organ Harvesting
  • Value of Life

Identity

Scopus Document Identifier

  • 84872290067

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1136/medethics-2011-100351

PubMed ID

  • 22267342

Additional Document Info

volume

  • 39

issue

  • 1