- 著者
-
五十子 敬子
- 出版者
- 関西法政治学研究会
- 雑誌
- 憲法論叢 (ISSN:24330795)
- 巻号頁・発行日
- vol.17, pp.1-29, 2010-12-24 (Released:2018-01-10)
Freedom of decision-making means that people are free to make up their own minds and take responsibility for their decisions. The Preface to the Japanese Constitution stipulates "We, the Japanese people, acting through our duly elected representatives in the National Diet, determined that we shall secure for ourselves and our posterity the fruits of peaceful cooperation with all nations and the blessings of liberty throughout this land". In the third chapter, it defines freedom more precisely. In this paper, I will mainly discuss self-determination regarding death, starting with the definition of self-determination. The general definition of 'self-determination' is similar to 'autonomy', originally used to describe political self-government in ancient Greece. Subsequently, the term was used in moral philosophy to mean individual self-government. Although it is argued that the capacity for individual autonomous control is what distinguishes human beings from animals, at the same time, autonomous choices may conflict with other individual and social values. Secondly, I will discuss whether self-determination regarding therapy is a constitutional right, and how mentally incapacitated adults can take such decisions. I will compare Japanese, American and British judgments on these issues, and definitions of commission and omission. I would also like to suggest that Japan should move forward in reaching consensus on this.