Letters to the EditorDignity is IntrinsicThe editorial note ["Life and Death With Dignity," Winter 1997] preceding your article on assisted suicide contains a description of human dignity that is worrisome. If, in fact, we have come to believe that "human dignity rests in the ability to make and to execute decisions based on one's own values and plans," then we already are well down the conceptual slippery slope of euthanasia. A more Catholic perspective holds that human dignity is intrinsic. It can not be chosen, conferred, or taken away; it can only be recognized or ignored. Individuals do not lose their dignity by losing control of decision making, bladder, or bowels. If human dignity is associated with choice, will those no longer able to choose become less worthy of our protection, our caring, and, ultimately, our health-care dollars? Michael Grady, M.D.
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Featured Materials
Issues in Ethics - V. 8, N. 2 Spring 1997 | ||||
issue abstract | ||||
Values in Conflict | ||||
thinking ethically | ||||
Beyond Professional Codes | ||||
Impartial Jurors, Impartial Juries | ||||
features | ||||
Who Gets Seen? | ||||
Ethics@E-Mail | ||||
Jumping the Gun | ||||
a case in point | ||||
The Case of Henry's Publick House | ||||
Comments on the Case of the Depressed Patient | ||||
letters to the editor | ||||
Dignity is Intrinsic | ||||
Family Obligations | ||||
scholars at work | ||||
Sarah Garcia | ||||
Philip Kain | ||||
news from the center | ||||
Writing Ethics Across the Curriculum | ||||
Student Reflection Leaders | ||||
Seminar on Civic Virtue Kicks Off Series | ||||
issues in ethics tools | ||||
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