After defining “euthanasia” and its various cases, I will analyze 4 normative approaches, which try to answer the question: “is euthanasia right?”. They are the sanctity of life approach, the liberal approach, the utilitarian approach, and the Kantian approach. I will defend the Kantian approach by arguing that it is the most balanced. The Kantian approach appears to be the most balanced from the moral point of view, because it rejects the excesses of the other three positions (traditional, utilitarian and liberal). In particular way, against liberal approach, that ascribe an absolute relevance to autonomy, Kantians point out that in ethics there are other important moral principles. For liberals it is sufficient that an action concerning ourselves is freely chosen and in full awareness to be morally justified. But such action could harm us or not respect our value as persons. Like when a subject harms hugely his body with drugs. Instead the Kantian approach prescribes that an individual ought to respect the value of his person, and therefore not irreparably harm his body or mind. But respecting the value of person does not mean that we are never justified to anticipate our death. There are anticipations of death that does not violate the respect for the value of our person. For example, in cases of altruistic suicide or when the level of suffering is unbearable and we are at the end of our existence (and therefore we have no more important chapters of our life to write).

TBA