How would Deontological ethics view physician-assisted suicide?

• A. Unacceptable because the duty not to kill overrides other concerns
• B. Acceptable because it maximizes happiness for the patient
• C. Acceptable if the doctor intends good
• D. Acceptable only if legal in the jurisdiction

Answer: (A)

In deontological ethics, morality comes from whether an action aligns with our duties and universal rules, not from its outcomes. The crucial duty here is not to kill. Physician-assisted suicide involves deliberately ending a life, which breaches that fundamental obligation for a physician. A deontologist would argue that even if the result seems to relieve suffering, consequences don’t justify violating a core rule. The physician’s role is to heal and to preserve life; assisting suicide treats the patient as a means to an end (to end suffering) rather than respecting their inherent worth as a rational being. Kantian reasoning also asks whether you could universalize this practice; if every physician assisted in deaths when faced with suffering, the trust essential to medicine would collapse. Respect for persons requires treating individuals as ends in themselves, not as a means to an end. For these reasons, from a deontological perspective, physician-assisted suicide is unacceptable, regardless of legal status or potential happiness outcomes.