Death, killing and euthanasia

[silvanasita]

As an Atheist, I would like to know your view about when (if it is in some cases) is acceptable to kill someone and/or give euthanasia. We, as moral agents, are able to judge and decide for other individuals when is the time for them to died? If yes, in which cases? In philosophy we can judge cases based in the certainty of consequences of our acts, but in the real world we'll never be able to know how would be like if we acted in another way. So, how we cope with this uncertainty?

My personal view: There are occasions that kill someone (with less pain possible) is the rightest thing to do. And the most obvious occasions is to end intensive suffering (which most of time would lead to death) of an individual. However, it could be that intensive suffering won't lead for a short term death. How we determine when is still worth one to live? In my opinion, specially when speaking of my own life, I don't think is worth living with intensive suffering and very few, if any, rewards. It's just never clear where we put this balance. Is it always arbitrary? Would we ever find a way to judge this situations better?

[Cirion Spellbinder]

I personally find no problems with euthanasia if the person being killed has expressed a desire to not suffer in x circumstances and rather be put down. It is important they express this before they are diagnosed with the illness which is causing them suffering. This is because the illness induces stress upon the person and thus inhibits their decision making process.

How we determine when is still worth one to live

If you know the person, ask them to specify a boundary for the pain they are willing to endure, beyond which they would prefer to die. If their illness fits outside of this boundary, then they should receive euthanasia. If you do not know them, then ask their relatives if this was specified. If not, speak to the person suffering from illness what they want directly.

[brimstoneSalad]

The best way to know is to ask. If you can't ask, then you have to use your best judgement.

I don't agree that the person needs to be asked before the illness; people can change their minds given new information (like having not realized before how unpleasant it would be; it would not be nice to be trapped in a surprising situation and not be allowed to change one's mind).
The only case it would be important to ask before a situation is if that situation is quite certainly temporary and curable. Suicidal depression is a good example of this; usually things can and do get better, but it's hard to see past it. Or if there's something particularly important the person needs to do, e.g. "I know I'll be begging to die, but don't let me die until the will is ready and I sign it, promise me!".

Generally, if the illness will certainly cause death (and will not be recovered from) and the suffering will only get worse, euthanasia is appropriate (and if the person can be asked, and will not be getting better, following his or her will on the matter is right).

However, don't break the law to euthanize somebody.

As to certainty: Ask a medical professional, and he or she will usually be able to tell you (having seen more of these, and being more able to gauge that kind of thing by experience).