Mercy: an insufficient motive for euthanasia. Catholic ethical tradition requires that we temper our motives with...

Some experts argue that acts of assisted suicide and euthanasia are ethically appropriate because they are merciful. Compelling though it is, this argument is not sufficient for determining the morality of these acts. The ethical tradition that calls for mercy has never suggested that mercy is, by itself, a sufficient criterion for determining an act's moral appropriateness. Human motives are rarely, if ever, pure and objective. For that reason, our ethical tradition has insisted on tempering motives with reason and care. The criteria for determining when it is merciful to assist in another's suicide or engage in an act of euthanasia are, for all practical purposes, impossible to define. Commonly writers refer to a person's hopeless condition to justify the merciful response of assisted suicide or euthanasia. But unless we can agree on whether hopelessness is an objective or subjective reality, and until the criteria to define this reality are evident, it is difficult to see how assisted suicide or euthanasia can be a careful and reasoned expression of mercy. Only by examining one's intention can one judge whether an act that may appear to be merciful in a hopeless situation is appropriate. "Intention" refers to the reasoned decision or judgment one makes about a goal and the means used to achieve that goal. Even if we cannot control our emotional response (our motives) in a particular situation, we can control our judgment (our intentions). Within our moral tradition, we can be sure we are being merciful in a careful and reasoned way when we intend to protect and promote the good of life.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)