Defense Date
11-14-2024
Graduation Date
Winter 12-20-2024
Availability
Immediate Access
Submission Type
dissertation
Degree Name
PhD
Department
Health Care Ethics
School
McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts
Committee Chair
Joris Gielen
Committee Member
Gerard Magill
Committee Member
Peter Osuji
Keywords
Medical aided dying, law, policy, legislation, secular, ethics
Abstract
A person’s right to self-determination is a central aspect of living in a democratic nation. Similarly, decisions regarding medical care are generally left up to the patient to determine what treatment is or is not appropriate. The same should apply to end-of-life care as well, especially when a patient desires to hasten his or her death via medically aided dying. However, due to the illegality of medically assisted dying in most of the United States, the right to a self-determined death is not possible for the majority of American citizens. One of the main reasons for this is due to religion’s influence on policy and law.
The central premise of this dissertation is to provide a comprehensive look into religion’s influence on lawmaking in the U.S. while calling for a turn away from said religiosity and towards secularity in order to sensibly legalize medically aided dying. The secular turn can start via approaching law and policy related discourse in a secular fashion. Avoiding religious reasoning is necessary throughout discourse because of religion’s subjective nature and the fact that there are myriad religions a person might abide by, or none at all. People using arguments based in religious reasoning can easily reach an impasse during a conversation or debate on a given topic. Thus, utilizing secular reasoning that is not rooted in unwavering beliefs allows for common ground to be found.
This dissertation will show how approaching discourse in a secular fashion works toward passing policies and legislation that uphold the greater good and separation of church and state, a central pillar of American culture. Further, through the utilization of secular arguments in the realm of medically aided dying, I will demonstrate how the carrying out of medically assisted death can be done in an ethical manner.
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Dyer, S. (2024). From Policymaking to Legislation, The Need for a Secular Turn in Bioethics Discourse to Uphold, as a Function of the Greater Good, Policy for Legislation of Medically Aided Dying in the United States of America (Doctoral dissertation, Duquesne University). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/2289