...Legalizing Euthanasia: A Practical Approach Theressa Thacker RN Excelsior College Abstract We are all in the process of dying from the day we are born. The prevalence of catastrophic diseases that once killed swiftly such as pneumonia, cholera, and massive heart attacks, have been replaced by chronic and, often, degenerative diseases such as advanced cancers, diabetes, lung disease, and Alzheimer’s, leading to a slow death for most (Gardner, 2012). This places a great financial burden on the Medicare system as well as patient’s families. Atul Gawande (2010) reports that twenty five percent of all Medicare spending is for the five percent of patients who are in their final year of life, and most of that money goes for care in their last couple of months, which is of little apparent benefit (p. 3). Even more concerning is the suffering that many patients are forced to endure due to the lack of other options. Patients must have the right to make autonomous decisions regarding the end of their lives. They need to be confident that those decisions will be upheld, even if they conflict with the wishes of their families or physicians. However, patient confidence in knowing that their final wishes will be met is complicated by a lack of education and empowerment for those who face these difficult decisions (Frank & Anselmi, 2011). The purpose of this essay is to discuss the benefits to patient autonomy and the Medicare budget, by the legalization of physician-assisted suicide...
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...Assisted Suicide Letithia Terry PHI103: Informal Logic Kurt Mosser June 6, 2011 Assisted Suicide Assisted Suicide is when the physician provides the necessary means or information and the patient performs the act. Euthanasia is where the physician performs the intervention defined as the “act of bringing about the death of a hopelessly ill and suffering person in a relatively quick and painless way for reason of mercy (as cited in Mosser 2010). Physician Assisted Suicide has grown to be a controversial issue and one of the major disputes is; can an incurable ill patient be able to choose Physician assisted suicide? This phenomenal dilemma has risen debates on rather to legalize PAS or keep it illegal because of the different issues concerning the different religion, moral and ethical views people have on the topic. In this essay I will discuss issues of why many people and I believe assisted suicide should be legalized. There are different laws around the world concerning physician assisted suicide and only a few states that has legalized the procedure. In 2005, there were only four places in the world that open and legally authorize assistance in dying patients: “Oregon (since l997, physician-assisted suicide only); Switzerland (1941, physician and non-physician assisted suicide only); Belgium (2002, permits 'euthanasia' but does not define the method and the Netherlands (voluntary euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide...
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...END OF LIFE MATTER 2 Medical Ethics: The truth behind end of life matter When it comes to death and dying, the medical processes of these notions are highly controversial in ethical means. All forms of end of life are illegal in Canada, whether it is voluntary/non-voluntary euthanasia, assisted suicide, and some cases of refusal of treatment. These procedures affect someone who is terminally ill, undergoing a disease, experiencing severe,...
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...parents and or coach. Although not as controversial as assisted suicide it poses significant risks and eyebrow raises in the sports world. Doctors, nurses, and various medical personal have a harder role. They wager people’s lives and future and decide in some countries whether or not to permit such an act. In this essay we will explore the facts on Euthanasia: Assisted Suicide, my view, the world view and its progress. Before I begin, however, let me note what I will not try to do. I will not try to show you that Physician Assisted Suicide is a fully justifiable course of action what I will do is give you facts and statistics of this rapidly growing controversial issue.. What I will show you is the compatibility to the commitment to good end-of-life care. One of the most important public policy debates today surrounds the issues of euthanasia and assisted suicide. The outcome of that debate to whether or not it should be made available will profoundly affect family relationships, interaction between doctors and patients, and concepts of basic ethical behavior. Although not accepted widespread, the thought and ease of relocation to a place where it is available is an option many people are considering. By definition Physician-Assisted Suicide is defined as a physician providing medications or other interventions to a patient with understanding that the patient intends to use them to commit suicide. In contrast to Euthanasia defined as, intentionally administering medications...
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...This essay will demonstrate that it is not “always morally worse to kill than it is to let die”. It will be argued that passive euthanasia (i.e. letting someone die) is not morally wrong and that active euthanasia (i.e. accelerating their death) is no less moral. However, the many complications associated with the legalisation of active euthanasia (and euthanasia in general) must be identified and addressed. These identified complications may be eliminated with an appropriate regulatory regime. Assuming that identified complications can be overcome, and having established that it is not always morally worse to kill than to let die, it will be demonstrated that active euthanasia should not be banned. Morality, as defined by the Oxford Dictionary, is “principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behaviour”1. Hinde states that the principles are influenced and changed by one’s society and culture but also “based in human nature”2. As morality is influenced by society, public opinion is important when it comes to controversial issues. Morality differs from place to place and evolves over time. To compound this diversity, changes in medical treatment, and discoveries which enhance medical knowledge evolves rapidly and what was not even conceivable in some cultures or at certain points in history are now commonly accepted. Developments in end of life care fall within this category. With our increased ability to prolong life, arguments can now be made...
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...INTRODUCTION Euthanasia is defined as the intentional killing, by act or omission, of a human being for his or her purported benefit. This definition is quite wide-ranging and a number of types of euthanasia and related activities have been defined. These include physician-assisted suicide and involuntary/non-voluntary euthanasia. While participation in the death of another—desired or otherwise—is usually defined in terms of a criminal act, a number of jurisdictions have established lawful protocols permitting such outcomes. By the same token, other jurisdictions, the Netherlands, have adopted what amount to non-punitive protocols in the face of existing legislation to the contrary when certain medical procedures are undertaken by licensed physicians. All of these acts have created considerable debate, extending to such issues as physician responsibility, duty of care, extent of individual responsibility, and personal integrity, to name just a few. This paper considers aspects of euthanasia and the moral factors that pertain. At the conclusion, this paper will recommend that certain types of euthanasia be permitted under the general supervision of a trained physician. EUTHANASIA AND PHYSICIAN-ASSISTED SUICIDE Physician-assisted suicide (PAS), like euthanasia, has been forbidden since the creation of the Hippocratic Oath. However, as a practical matter, physicians have had a measure of latitude in the specific application. For example, a fatal dose of an opium...
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...Professor McDonald PHL 154: Moral Foundations December 10, 2012 Voluntary Active Euthanasia: Morally Impermissible Voluntary active euthanasia can be defined as “the intentional and direct termination of a person's life when that person is terminally ill or when his or her death is imminent, and where that person is a competent adult who voluntarily, consistently and repeatedly requests the termination of his or her life. A terminally ill person is defined as one who has an incurable or irreversible condition which is highly likely to cause his or her death within a relatively short time (six months or less) with or without treatment.” In the recent election, Massachusetts voters had an opportunity to allow such a procedure as a ballot referendum. Regardless of whether it is legally permissible or not, voluntary active euthanasia (hereafter “VAE”) is morally impermissible. A Natural Law Argument According to the ethics of natural law, “our primary life goal should be to realize as fully as we can our potential as human beings” (Harris 91). To do this, people should use the standard of human nature to act in a way that is in accordance with human nature (92). Our human nature is determined by the common natural inclinations of humans (93). Human nature can be determined the goals humans collectively strive for (93). These ‘natural inclinations’, as referred to by Aquinas, “reflect the structure of our human nature, which natural law directs us to follow” (93). ...
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...Knowledge Area Module VI Contemporary Issues and the Ethical Delivery of Health Services Student: Harold Taitt, harold.taitt@waldenu.edu Student ID # A00293212 Program: Ph.D. Health Services Specialization: Health Management and Policy Faculty Mentor: Dr. Robert Hoye, robert.hoye@waldenu.edu Faculty Assessor: Dr. Jim Goes, jim.goes@waldenu.edu Walden University May 10, 2013 Abstract Breadth Component In this age of rapidly evolving technological advances, many of the legal and ethical issues that are challenging the delivery of health care and the health care profession are new. As we confront the legal, moral, and ethical aspects of health care, we are seldom faced with decisions that require or are resolved by simple right or wrong answers (Edge & Kreiger, 1998). In the Breadth component of KAM VI, I focus on several ethical theories and how those theories influence the way ethical issues and concerns are addressed and managed in the allocation and delivery of health care services. I critically assess and evaluate those theories, concepts, and derivative principles as they impact important decisions and the implications of those decisions within the context of social change and with special emphasis on health care management and policy. In addition, I discuss the key assumptions on which the selected theories are constructed, compare and contrast the writers’ interpretations across theories, and conclude by providing a critical commentary on the merits of the selected...
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...been long simmered beneath the surface in legal and political circles: under what circumstances do terminally injured and ill Americans have the right to choose to die? The Supreme Court made a definitive statement in the landmark 1990 case Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Dept. of Health that severely injured patients have a constitutional right to refuse medical treatment and die. But the court also ruled that states can require "clear and convincing" evidence of a patient's intent to forgo medical treatment, a rather high evidentiary standard to meet. History The actual word for “having a right to die” is Euthanasia. According to Dictionary.com, euthanasia is defined as the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering. The concept of Euthanasia goes as far back as 1870, when Samuel Williams, a schoolteacher, initiated the contemporary euthanasia debate through a speech given at the Birmingham Speculative Club, which was subsequently published in a one-off publication...
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...justice. Now, imagine you were the trial judged asked to deliver a verdict to an appellant wishing to end her life prematurely. Would you violate the principles of fundamental justice and allow her to suffer and die of natural causes or would you preserve the dignity and autonomy of the competent adult and allow her to take her life at the time and manner of her choosing? To consider this question, I will examine euthanasia using two basic moral principles namely Deontology and Utilitarianism. In addition to describing the two theories and their relevance to...
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...IssUEs Of EUThANAsIA: ARGUmENTATIvE EssAy Bilal S. H. Badr Naga Majd T. Mrayyan (1) Bilal S. H. Badr Naga., MSN, RN, Prince Sultan Cardiac Center in Qassim, Saudi Arabia (2) Majd T. Mrayyan., Prof, RN, The Hashemite University, Jordan Correspondence: Bilal S. H. Badr Naga., MSN, RN, Prince Sultan Cardiac Center in Qassim, Saudi Arabia Email: Bilal_badrnaga@yahoo.com Case scenario Abstract Euthanasia is one of the issues that has been the subject of intense debate over time. It has been a pertinent issue in human rights discourse as it also affects ethical and legal issues pertaining to patients and health care providers. This paper discusses the legal and ethical debates concerning both types of euthanasia. It focuses on both the supporter of euthanasia and the opponent of euthanasia. Several statements for the Euthanasia argument arediscussed: a merciful response that alleviates the suffering of patients which is sometimes wrongly perceived to be otherwise unrelievable; the autonomy in which the patient has the right to make his own choices; the regulation and legislation of existing practices of euthanasia to protect health care providers and patients. In this heated debate religious, political, ethical, legal and personal views are also included. Among all these, those who desperately want to end their lives because they simply cannot go on in any way, are the ones who suffer. Every individual or group has a different viewpoint regarding euthanasia. Euthanasia is considered...
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...and death plans. Regardless of whether we want to plan or not death is always 100% sure when its time. No human being has lived forever and for humans death is a part of life. Death comes in many different forms, but in the end all of these different forms still lead to only one thing death. Ethically there are two topics that always get everyone talking and is always a hot topic of debate. These two things are the ethical issues between natural death and physician-assisted death. These two forms of death both have supporters that back them and have valid reasons why they support either of the two. Throughout this essay the pros and cons of each will be discussed. Most humans don’t like the thought of death and tend to not want to discuss it because death is the end of the natural human life. Throughout history death has always been final and the thought of death scares many people. The way that some people die scares many people even more. Two ways that many people die are through natural death and physician-assisted death. These two topics come with a fair share of ethical issues that many people are for and against. Natural death occurs naturally and by naturally it means that there were no other things that contributed to the death of a person. No physician helped with the process and the human just died from maybe old age or any other complications that take place as humans age. This form of death is the least frowned upon because there is nothing that forced it to happen...
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...2 April 2014 Rhetorical Analysis: Euthanasia Particular Analysis There are three key audiences of the text for William F. May's “Rising to the Occasion of Our Death.” The first audience, in this case, would be legislative organizations or lawmakers who have researched and studied similar cases regarding euthanasia. Since May was as an ethics professor at Southern Methodist University, his tone is decidedly intellectual. An uneducated individual would find it more difficult to read his essay; for example, in declarations such as “Advocates of active euthanasia appeal to the principle of patient autonomy,” May's syntax and tone is formal, informative, and utilizes heavy technical jargon (May 662). In other words, it is authoritative, and enables the audience to view him as a credible source due to his syntactical confidence. Other organizations, lobbyists, or lawmakers who are researching evidence on euthanasia would certainly benefit from reading his expert opinion on the matter. Moreover, his desire to develop a “judicious, regulated policy” is a certain acknowledgement that he is attempting to legally call for regulations on euthanasia (May 662). The second audience that May is appealing to are conservative Christians, who are distinctively pro-life. As his article was originally published in well-circulated The Christian Century magazine, addressing this audience exposes members of May's audience who are unfamiliar with euthanasia to its technicalities by debating...
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...STUDENT NAME: Amal Alzubi Introduction 1. What is Suicide? ”Suicide” is difficult to define. This is because it is a value-laden term. Whenever we apply the label of “suicide” to an individual’s death, we typically presuppose a number of significant moral issues. To see the problem, let’s posit a definition: Suicide: Is the intentional and voluntary taking of one’s own life. At first glance, this is a simple and appealing definition. It seems to capture the core phenomenon of self-killing pretty succinctly. There are, however, all sorts of cases that would test the limits of this definition. Consider the “voluntariness” requirement. Many people may take their lives under conditions of coercion, duress or necessity. Does that mean they don’t commit suicide? Take the example of Hitler. He killed himself in order to avoid the humiliation of execution. Was his decision voluntary? What of the Japanese Samurai, who had a form of ritual self-killing (known asseppuka or hari-kari) that they used to “die with honor” rather than fall into the hands of their enemies? Or the soldier who throws himself on a grenade in order to save his comrades? I suspect we would say that each of these counts as an example of “suicide”, but depending on how we understand the voluntariness condition; they may not meet the conditions set down in our definition. Harder issues arise when we consider the relationship between responsibility and suicide. Hill uses the example of the Christian martyrs and...
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...ETHICAL ISSUES IN HEALTH To evaluate the impact of moral philosophy on medical practice we must first look at what a moral philosophy is, also which philosophies that will be included. Moral philosophy is the area of philosophy concerned with theories of ethics, with how we ought to live our lives. Deontology and utilitarianism are the two philosophies that I shall be evaluating and applying throughout this essay. These are two time-honoured philosophical positions that apply to a wide variety of topics. Deontology is an ethical system that is attributed to the philosophical tradition of Immanuel Kant. Deontology demands that the actions, or means themselves must be ethical. This philosophy is based upon principles of duty and obligation, we have the freedom to act morally (right) or otherwise (wrong) based on General Universal Laws. To respect life means that you must not kill, to respect others is not to steal these moral laws are black and white as you must do what is right and do not do what is wrong regardless of circumstance or outcome. Deontologists argue that there are transcendent ethical norms and truths that are universally applicable to all people. Deontology holds that some actions are immoral regardless of their consequence; these actions are wrong in and of themselves. We should not act out of feeling, inclination, love or compassion, but out of our moral duty according to the universal moral laws. Kant gives a ‘categorical imperative’ to act morally at all times...
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