Essay | Sanctity of Life Versus Quality of Life

Advancements in medical technology have forced us again to question our definition of Human Life, and what makes it so valuable. If in fact it is intrinsically valuable, then in the case of "brain dead" patients, despite a lack of higher cortical function and the suggestion that it is merely stimulation of electrical impulses, we should prolong the life nevertheless. Does the quality of that life increase or decrease its value? This is the question raised by Peter Suber, Johnathon Glover and Peter Singer, as they endeavour to show us that "life is only extrinsically valuable, valuable as a means to a life worth living." I tend to agree more strongly with the quality of life theory that is put forward by these three, as opposed to the Sanctity of life principle that is highly defended by institutions such as the church and much of our legal system. I shall...
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