Bobbie Farsides

In the following viewpoint, Bobbie Farsides argues that effective pain treatment for the terminally ill should not be promoted as the moral alternative to euthanasia. While dying patients should receive the best pain treatments available, euthanasia should be permitted as an option for those whose symptoms do not respond to medical treatments. Those who promote palliative care—compassionate pain relief for the dying—are not necessarily against euthanasia, Farsides points out. Farsides is a lecturer in medical ethics at King’s College in London, England.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. How does the World Health Organization define palliative care?
2. What appears to be the dominant philosophy of palliative care, in Farsides’ opinion?
3. Why is it counterproductive to perceive the palliative care...