Helga Kuhse (26 March 1940) is an Australian

utilitarian In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for the affected individuals. In other words, utilitarian ideas encourage actions that lead to the ...

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and

bioethicist Bioethics is both a field of study and professional practice, interested in ethics, ethical issues related to health (primarily focused on the human, but also increasingly includes animal ethics), including those emerging from advances in biolo ...

. Kuhse was born in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, Germany, and emigrated to Australia in 1962. From the 1970s, she was one of the first philosophers to address the ethical implications of the developments in

biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...

and

biomedicine Biomedicine (also referred to as Western medicine, mainstream medicine or conventional medicine)

. With

Peter Singer Peter Albert David Singer (born 6 July 1946) is an Australian moral philosopher who is Emeritus Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University. Singer's work specialises in applied ethics, approaching the subject from a secu ...

, she founded the Centre for Human Bioethics at

Monash University Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...

in 1980, one of the first research centres in the world devoted entirely to

bioethics Bioethics is both a field of study and professional practice, interested in ethical issues related to health (primarily focused on the human, but also increasingly includes animal ethics), including those emerging from advances in biology, me ...

. She served as Director of the Centre until June 1999. Her ideas on the end of life, the right to die, and assisted death, have prompted controversy worldwide. Kuhse is a prominent supporter of the legalisation of voluntary assisted

euthanasia Euthanasia (from : + ) is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different Legality of euthanasia, euthanasia laws. The British House of Lords Select committee (United Kingdom), se ...

. Many people, including the former Chief Minister of the Northern Territory of Australia,

Marshall Perron Marshall Bruce Perron (born 5 February 1942) is a former Australian politician, who was Chief Minister of the Northern Territory from 1988 to 1995.

, credit Kuhse's work as the inspiration for the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act.Making ideas reality
/ref> In 1996, Perron told a public forum that it was after reading one of Kuhse's papers that he was prompted to introduce the Rights of the Terminally Ill Bill into Parliament. The Act was the first piece of legislation anywhere in the world to legalise

. However, the Act was overturned by the Australian Federal Government in 1997. Kuhse has served on a number of ethics committees, and has been an expert advisor to Australian parliaments considering euthanasia legislation. In 1987, she founded the international academic journal ''

Bioethics Bioethics is both a field of study and professional practice, interested in ethical issues related to health (primarily focused on the human, but also increasingly includes animal ethics), including those emerging from advances in biology, me ...

'' with Peter Singer. The pair also founded the International Association of Bioethics. She is currently an Honorary Research Fellow at

Publications

Kuhse is the author of numerous prominent books on bioethics. Her first major work, '' Should the Baby Live?'' with

, catapulted her into the public arena at a time when she was still finishing her PhD in philosophy. She has since written several works which have been highly influential both in academic circles and in broader public debate. Some of her prominent works are:Amazon.com: Helga Kuhse: Books
/ref> *''Bioethics: An Anthology'' (with Peter Singer) *''A companion to Bioethics'' (with Peter Singer) *''Unsanctifying Human Life: Essays on Ethics'' (with Peter Singer) *''Caring - Nurses, Women and Ethics'' *''Embryo Experimentation'' (with Peter Singer) *''Allocation of Health Care Resources : An Ethical Evaluation of the "Qaly" Approach'' (with Peter Singer) *''Willing to listen, wanting to die'' *''The Sanctity-of-Life Doctrine in Medicine: A Critique'' *''Is Infant Euthanasia Ever Justified (Opposing Viewpoints)'' *'' Should the Baby Live?'' (with Peter Singer) *''Should the Baby Live: The Problem of Handicapped Infants''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuhse, Helga 20th-century Australian philosophers 21st-century Australian philosophers Academic staff of Monash University Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Australian women philosophers Bioethicists Consequentialists Utilitarians