Ochendo: An African Journal of Innovative Studies

The sanctity of life has remained a sustained debate amid varied arguments for and against the absolute right to life as discussed in applied ethics, medical ethics, and other sociological discourses. Like abortion and suicide, so deliberated when taking about of the sacredness of life, euthanasia appears to generate the most of concerns among scholars probably because it does not just require the consent of the patient, but also involves the participating engagements of a medical practitioner and those of the families of the patient, which gives it a "Tripod of consents". To engage the various arguments for and against, legality or illegality of its praxis, this paper is aimed at using philosophical analysis and expository method to clarify terms and concepts related to euthanasia. The study posits that euthanasia is not just illegal owing to the argument in favor of protecting the sacredness of life, but also a brand of ethical and psychological egoism aimed at satisfying patients' self-interest and happiness, making it egoistical utilitarianism as popularized by Matthew McConaughey, which combines self-interest and maximization of overall good to benefit the individual.

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