نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی
نویسندگان
1 دانش آموخته کارشناسی ارشد، گرایش حقوق جزا و جرم‌شناسی – دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی واحد بندرعباس
2 کارشناسی ارشد، حقوق جزا و جرم‌شناسی، واحد بندرعباس، دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی، بندرعباس، ایران
3 دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی واحد بندرعباس
چکیده
کلیدواژه‌ها
عنوان مقاله [English]
نویسندگان [English]
This article, titled "De-Ethicizing the Crime of Compassion: A Criminological–Philosophical Analysis of Non-Voluntary Infant Euthanasia with a Focus on the Leonard Arthur Case", investigates the morally complex and legally controversial phenomenon of non-voluntary euthanasia of infants—cases in which life is intentionally ended for newborns who are unable to make decisions due to profound congenital disabilities or irreversible medical conditions. Drawing upon the intersection of legal philosophy, bioethics, and critical criminology, this study offers a multidimensional analysis of compassionate killing beyond classical moral and legal binaries.
The focal point of the article is the 1981 trial of British physician Dr. Leonard Arthur, who was accused of the deliberate termination of a severely disabled infant’s life. Initially charged with murder and later with attempted murder, Dr. Arthur was eventually acquitted. His case ignited intense public and scholarly debate, revealing deeper questions about the nature of intention, suffering, dignity, and legal culpability in end-of-life decisions.
Employing a theoretical–analytical methodology, the article draws from philosophical arguments, medical ethics literature, legal documents, and criminological theories. It is structured into five sections: theoretical foundations, philosophical debates on mercy killing, criminological perspectives on deviance and responsibility, an in-depth analysis of the Arthur case, and a concluding critical synthesis.
Findings indicate that the legal system lacks adequate tools to capture the ethical ambiguity of non-voluntary euthanasia. Traditional criminal law fails to address the fluid boundary between killing and compassion, often ignoring the lived realities of caregivers and medical professionals. The article calls for a normative reconstruction of criminal responsibility in light of human dignity and moral complexity. It advocates for an interdisciplinary criminology that resists reductive legalism and incorporates contextual, ethical, and social dimensions in analyzing such morally charged acts.
کلیدواژه‌ها [English]
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