INTRODUCTION

If abortion is the first issue which jumps to mind when thinking about why aproject like this one seems counter-intuitive, then end-of-life issues mightcome next. Peter Singer's championing of euthanasia seems hopelessly at oddswith an ethic that understands such killing to be intrinsically evil. Indeed,the Church claims that euthanasia is “hostile to life itself” andpart of a violent culture of death. And Singer's support of euthanasia has beenresisted, not only by Christians, but by secular groups as well. A recentexample was the advocacy group Not Dead Yet sending a letter to the editor ofthe Sunday New York Times Magazine claiming that Singerdevalues the lives of those with special needs. Nor has the blowback from suchgroups been limited to the United States. In an appendix to the second editionof Practical Ethics, which he entitled “On BeingSilenced in Germany,” Singer details several examples where hisinvitations to present his scholarship were withdrawn under pressure from thesegroups. Sometimes his speaking events were canceled, and on occasions where theywere allowed to go ahead, Singer was often whistled at or shouted down. On oneoccasion, much of the crowd simply repeated the chant “Singerraus ! Singer raus !”(Get out, Singer, get out!) The chant was so loud and sustained that he wasforced to abandon his presentation.

Despite a motivated coalition of both Christians and secularists against him,Singer maintains a very strong and consistent position on euthanasia andend-of-life issues.