How Could There Be a Duty to Die?

Abstract

John Hardwig has argued for the claim that in a variety of circumstances, a patient has a duty to end his or her life. His argument depends on the (largely correct) contention that putting off death will result in significant economic, physical, and emotional turmoil for the patient’s family. Hardwig’s argument, it seems, invokes the principle that a duty to a is incurred if refraining from a imposes a serious burden on others, particularly one’s family. I contend, in opposition to Hardwig, that obligations or duties do not arise in this way. No one would seriously suggest, for instance, that I am required to die even if a family member stands to lose his or her life’s savings, because in part I persist in living rather than succumb to death. After all, a family member has something to say about how his or her money is to be spent and, in general, he or she is under no requirement to squander his or her savings on a doomed relative.