Débat sur l'euthanasie : regard philosophique sur le respect de l'autonomie

Utilitarian and deontological points of view about the respect of autonomy are frequently opposed during discussions about the legalisation of euthanasia. The first (based on the philosophy of Emmanuel Kant) allows to go against the patient's request of euthanasia wherea the second (founded on the texts of John Stuart Mill) persists on always respecting it. But isn't this distinction caricatural? After having quickly set the question of autonomy in the philosophical field, we will detail Kant's and Mill's standpoints. Then we will try to show that these two points of view are more complementary than conflicting. Indeed, if autonomy in philosophical meaning puts the person in the center of the decision, it does not make him an omnipotent person. Autonomy is limited, just as well if autonomy is understood as “autolimitation” (Kant) or as “absolute independance” (Mill). It is indeed contradictory that an autonomous person makes an autonomous act, such as suicide or euthanasia, which would deprive him of his autonomy. In the debate about the legalisation of euthanasia, the question of respect for the autonomy cannot be summarized in the opposition between two ethical views. But the discussion is not yet closed, as we will see in a subsequent paper.