What is the difference between active and passive euthanasia?
“Active” euthanasia refers to an action one takes to end a life, for example, a lethal injection. “Passive” euthanasia refers to an omission — such as failing to intervene at a life-threatening crisis, or failing to provide nourishment. It is important not to confuse “passive euthanasia” with the morally legitimate decision to withhold medical treatment that is not morally necessary. (The question of what is or is not morally necessary is handled below.) When we forego a treatment that we are not required to use, then even if death comes faster as a result, that withholding is not euthanasia in any form and should not be called by the name. 5. What kind of treatments and interventions, then, are morally obligatory, and which are not? No matter how ill a patient is, we never have a right to put that person to death. Rather, we have a duty to care for and preserve life. But to what length are we required to go to preserve life? No religion or state holds that we are obliged to use every
