Peter Singer and the Lessons of the German Euthanasia Program

Abstract

If the German euthanasia program developed from that nation's intellectual culture, then the Nazi extension of it was not a unique horror and might be a relevant analogy for modern euthanasia debates. In this context, the case of Peter Singer (an advocate of euthanasia) and his criticisms of the Nazi analogy are particularly worthy of consideration. This article argues that Singer's criticisms fail, and that the analogy does in fact have contemporary relevance.