r a choice made by a conscious individual after the condition develops, or a directive given prior to the development of a condition in which the individual may be incapable of making a decision because he or she is unconscious or incompetent. "Voluntary decisions also include those cases in which persons take their own lives either directly or by refusing treatment, and cases where patients deputize others to act on their behalf." Active euthanasia refers to all cases in which steps are taken to bring about the individual's death--as opposed to passive euthanasia, in which life support and treatment are withdrawn, and the medical condition is allowed to produce death. The distinction between passive and active euthanasia may be important, if one accepts the claim that all deliberate taking of human life is morally impermissible. But, as Rachels has shown, it is very difficult to distinguish between the two on other moral grounds. In terms of humane behavior, for example, the "process of being 'allowed to die' can be relatively slow and painful," while active euthanasia "is relatively quick and painless."
In considering the arguments against voluntary active euthanasia, it becomes clear that they set aside the claims of autonomy by either labeling euthanasia as the equivalent of murder, or dwelling on possible abuses of the practice. The claim that euthanasia amounts to the same thing as any other deliberate taking of a human life disregards all special claims for the circumstances. It is, however, perfectly possible to regard the taking of a life as morally
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