It is not that important if it is the role of the doctor to administer lethal drugs: a response to Barker et al.

Abstract

Barker et al argue that doctors should not administer lethal drugs primarily because it is inconsistent with the goal of medicine, which is to cure and prevent disease. Accordingly, they suggest the creation of a profession of assisted dying practitioners with their own goals that can be clearly defined in legislation. This paper challenges this view by noting that medicine cannot be reduced to curing and preventing disease, as there are commonly accepted medical procedures that fall outside of them, for example, cosmetic surgeries and vasectomies. And the fact that these procedures have not attracted nearly as much attention as assisted death has is a sign that the debate is not really about the role of medicine or doctors. Rather, the debate is about assisted death specifically because we have underlying judgements and assumptions about the value of life and the disvalue of death. This paper suggests that we focus more on the fundamental moral questions and less on the role of the doctor.