天主教定義的安樂死是本質惡嗎？

Is Euthanasia as Defined by the Catholic Church Intrinsece Malum?

天主教主張安樂死是本質惡，亦即在任何情形下均為不道德的行為，本文則以倫理學行為理論的探討為基礎，與天主教官方觀點進行對話，並提出不同之主張。文分四部分，第一部分是問題意識的背景說明，先指出世俗社會在相關議題上所使用的不同於天主教的概念以及逐漸開放的立場，再提出天主教的安樂死定義以及天主教視安樂死為本質惡的立場。讀者將從這樣的對比中感受到問題的爭議與張力。第二部分說明天主教主張的論述基礎，亦即其以「行為道德性三根源」為核心的倫理學行為理論。第三部分是本文有關倫理學行為理論的核心論述。由於天主教的倫理學行為理論源自多瑪斯的學說，本文先詳細說明多瑪斯的觀點，並以之為基礎來批判反思天主教的倫理學行為理論。最後，以第三部分的討論為基礎，第四部分論證天主教所定義的安樂死恐怕並非本質惡。

The Catholic Church maintains that euthanasia is intrinsece malum (intrinsic evil), that is, an immoral act under any circumstance. Based on the discussion of ethical act theory, this article conducts a dialogue and debate with the Catholic viewpoint, and puts forward a different position. The article is divided into four parts. The first part is the background explanation of the issue. It first explains the different concepts used by secular world on relevant issues that are different from those of the Catholic Church and its increasingly liberal stance, and then proposes the Catholic definition of euthanasia and the Catholic position that euthanasia is an intrinsic evil. Readers will get a sense of the controversy and tension of the issue from such comparisons. The second part explains the argument underlying the Catholic position, that is, its ethical act theory with the so-called ''tres fontes moralitatis''. The third part is the systematic core discussion of the article concerning the ethical act theory as such. Since the Catholic ethical act theory is derived from St. Thomas’theory, the article first elaborates his point of view, and then criticizes and reflects on the Catholic ethical act theory. Finally, based on the conclusion of the third part, the fourth and last part argues that euthanasia as defined by the Catholic Church is probably not intrinsically evil.