PREVENTING
MERCY KILLING
Mercy killings occur in every known culture of the
world.
Mercy killings are usually committed by close relatives and/or friends
of the deceased.
And often death was earnestly requested by the deceased before death.
The news media regularly cover cases of mercy
killing.
And generally such coverage has been sympathetic toward the family.
When one person was responsible for the mercy
killing,
that person might be changed with a violation of law
---perhaps even first-degree murder,
since it was a pre-meditated act of killing another human being.
But juries everywhere in the world (wherever juries are used)
have often acquitted family members charged with mercy killing
because the jury can deeply understand
the desire to help a loved one to end his or her suffering.
Even if it might technically be a violation of law,
the peers on the jury believe
that the one who committed the act of mercy should not be punished
---precisely because the motives were love and mercy
rather than hatred
and malice.
Prosecutors who have failed a few times to get
convictions for mercy killings
sometimes decide not to prosecute any further cases,
at least when there is no way to suggest that the 'criminal'
was doing anything to harm the loved one who is now dead.
If the prosecutor can show financial gain for the 'murderer',
then their might be a better chance
of winning a conviction from a jury of the murderer's peers.
Public thinking about the right-to-die
has created a new climate for considering situations
in which loving spouses help their life-partners to die.
And if we formalize this thinking,
perhaps a new concept will emerge: merciful death.
"Merciful
death" is a confusing expression,
since it seems so close to mercy
killing.
And perhaps further debate concerning the right-to-die
will produce a better expression than "merciful death".
For the present, we will attempt to separate
mercy killing from merciful death in the
following four ways:
1. Mercy killing harms
the victim.
Merciful death benefits
the patient.
2. Mercy
killing
is not based on reason.
Merciful
death
is based on reason.
3. Mercy
killing
is often capricious.
Merciful
death
is well-planned.
4. Mercy
killing
is regrettable and lamentable.
Merciful
death
is admirable and laudable.
If you would like to
examine these differences more deeply, read:
"Four Differences between Mercy Killing and Merciful Death":
http://www.tc.umn.edu/%7Eparkx032/CY-MK-MD.html.
The safeguards linked below constitute the
operational methods
by which several other persons can participate
in examining the proposed death to see whether
it would be a mercy killing
(harmful criminal behavior)
or a merciful death
(helpful compassionate behavior).
We as a society can continue to disapprove and punish mercy
killings
while at the same time approving
and not punishing merciful deaths.
SAFEGUARDS TO DISCOURAGE MERCY KILLING
The following 17 safeguards call upon the considered
opinions
of a wide variety of neutral persons who can help
to separate those
decisions that would result in harmful
mercy killings
from those
decisions that would result in helpful
merciful deaths.
Even before any laws are changed to incorporate such
safeguards,
families considering ending the misery of their loved ones
can fulfill the most appropriate of the following safeguards
in their good-faith efforts to decide whether
the planned death would be a merciful
death or a mercy
killing.
In some cases, consulting others in the process of
fulfilling the safeguards
will convince the family NOT to proceed with the plan for death.
But if fulfilling the safeguards convinces everyone involved
that this proposed death would be at the best time
---not too soon and not too late---
then the family could proceed with the life-ending decisions
with the assurance that we have wisely considered all of the
alternatives.
And when the prosecutor sees all the documents the
family has collected,
prosecutor might decided that the case is
so overwhelmingly in favor of the possible defendants
that it would be a foolish waste of the tax-payers' money
to prosecute any of the family members
who were involved in the merciful end of their loved one.
This will especially be the case if the family
reports to the prosecutor before
the death takes place.
(See that safeguard linked below.)
But even a partial record of the plans for death,
approved by as many neutral persons as can be assembled,
will convince all open-minded people
that death at this time
will be better for the dying person
than death at a later time.
This website is not recommending mercy killing in
any way.
And the very process of attempting to fulfill some of the following
safeguards
might result in postponing the proposed death
because it might have been premature.
Fulfilling these safeguards will make the
death-planning process more open.
And others who are asked for their opinions
will often have some creative alternatives to suggest,
which will make the mercy killing unnecessary.
Or put another way, these safeguards for
life-ending decisions
can transform what would have been a criminal act---mercy killing---
into a somewhat later merciful
death---which should not be a crime.
Desperate family members can find help from the following people
to organize the needed relief for the patient
in a way that all open-minded people can
approve.
These safeguards are arranged beginning with the
most powerful and effective:
STATEMENTS
FROM FAMILY MEMBERS
AFFIRMING OR
QUESTIONING THE CHOSEN DEATH
STATEMENTS
FROM
ADVOCATES FOR
DISADVANTAGED GROUPS
IF INVITED BY
THE PATIENT AND/OR THE PROXIES
PHYSICIAN'S
STATEMENT OF CONDITION AND PROGNOSIS
INDEPENDENT
PHYSICIAN REVIEWS THE CONDITION AND PROGNOSIS
HOSPITAL OR
HOSPICE ENROLLMENT
PSYCHOLOGICAL
CONSULTANT EVALUATES
THE PATIENT'S
ABILITY TO MAKE MEDICAL DECISIONS
ADVANCE
DIRECTIVE FOR MEDICAL CARE
REQUESTS FOR
DEATH FROM THE PATIENT
INFORMED
CONSENT FROM THE PATIENT
UNBEARABLE
SUFFERING
ETHICS
COMMITTEE REVIEWS THE LIFE-ENDING DECISION
A
MEMBER OF THE CLERGY APPROVES OR QUESTIONS THE CHOICE FOR DEATH
RELIGIOUS OR
OTHER MORAL PRINCIPLES
APPLIED TO THIS
LIFE-ENDING DECISION
REPORT TO THE
PROSECUTOR BEFORE THE DEATH TAKES PLACE
CIVIL AND
CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR CAUSING PREMATURE DEATH
COMPLETE
RECORDING AND SHARING OF ALL MATERIAL FACTS AND OPINIONS
THE
DEATH-PLANNING COORDINATOR ORGANIZES THE SAFEGUARDS
If these 17
safeguards do not seem sufficient to discourage mercy killings,
there are a dozen more listed in the complete catalog of safeguards:
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/SG-CAT.html.
Each of these descriptions contains a few paragraphs
explaining how that safeguard will discourage
all forms of premature death.
Created March 22, 2007; revised 4-12-2007