안락사 문제의 법철학적 고찰

초록

The normative judgment about the euthanasia-problem largely depends on the understanding of the socio-historical concept of death and especially ‘natural death’. The idea of natural death has influenced on the modern bioethical and -political perspectives and has played a great role in the euthanasia-debate. Foremost the neomarxist and postmodernist views, with their own analyses on the 'natural death'-concept, clarify the social and normative meaning of euthanasia-debate. The neomarxists assume the positive role of the 'natural death'-idea in its social and medical context and defend the equal rights to natural death. But the postmodernists radically criticize the 'ideology of natural death' and contradict the biopolitical concept of the postmodern governance in general. The both analyses make clear that the euthanasia has its justification only in the exercise of the autonomy of patients which results by no means in the unnatural self-disposition. Nowadays there are growing recognition of this point and it is strived to introduce the moderate regulation on the euthanasia-practice. Foremost the 'advance directives (Patientenverfügung)' are proposed as an alternative to the subjective actual will of patients. This method might bring the negative social effects, nevertheless it can support the patient's primary interest in the autonomous self-decision.

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