<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>My recent article, “The challenge of brain death for the sanctity of life ethic” (<italic>Ethics &amp; Bioethics (in Central Europe</italic>), 2018, 8 (3–4), pp. 153–165) elicited five commentaries. In this brief response, I clarify my own position in the light of some misunderstandings, and discuss whether the definition of death is best thought of as an ethical question, or as a matter of fact. I also comment on the suggestion that we should allow people to choose the criteria by which they wish their own death to be determined, or their organs removed to be donated to others.</p></abstract>

My recent article, “The challenge of brain death for the sanctity of life ethic” (Ethics & Bioethics (in Central Europe), 2018, 8 (3–4), pp. 153–165) elicited five commentaries. In this brief response, I clarify my own position in the light of some misunderstandings, and discuss whether the definition of death is best thought of as an ethical question, or as a matter of fact. I also comment on the suggestion that we should allow people to choose the criteria by which they wish their own death to be determined, or their organs removed to be donated to others.

Brain death: A response to the commentaries

Ethics & Bioethics

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"Brain death: A response to the commentaries"}

My recent article, “The challenge of brain death for the sanctity of life ethic” (Ethics & Bioethics (in Central Europe), 2018, 8 (3–4), pp. 153–165) elicited...

Brain death: A response to the commentaries

Published Online: Jun 13, 2019

Page range: 81 - 85

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ebce-2019-0007

Keywords
definition of death, brain death, sanctity of life, organ transplantation, Jahi McMath, Ireneusz Ziemiński, Piotr Grzegorz Nowak, Katarína Komenská, Ján Kalajtzidis, Vilius Dranseika and Ivars Neiders

© 2019 Peter Singer, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Brain death: A response to the commentaries

Published Online: Jun 13, 2019

Page range: 81 - 85

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ebce-2019-0007

Keywordsdefinition of death, brain death, sanctity of life, organ transplantation, Jahi McMath, Ireneusz Ziemiński, Piotr Grzegorz Nowak, Katarína Komenská, Ján Kalajtzidis, Vilius Dranseika and Ivars Neiders

© 2019 Peter Singer, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
definition of death, brain death, sanctity of life, organ transplantation, Jahi McMath, Ireneusz Ziemiński, Piotr Grzegorz Nowak, Katarína Komenská, Ján Kalajtzidis, Vilius Dranseika and Ivars Neiders