Bouvia vs. Supreme Court The case of Bouvia vs the Supreme Court, is the case in which Bouvia, a patient at a public hospital, wanted a feeding tube removed that was placed in her against her will. In this essay I will give a brief overview of the case, then I will relate the relevance of a couple ethical terms. Thirdly, I will discuss how an act-utilitarian would approach this case and finally, I will give my opinion of this case. The hospital in which Bouvia was in put in, in an effort to get food into her system. Bouvia, who is a quadriplegic and has since birth suffered from a severe case of cerebral palsy, did not want it in because it was very uncomfortable and she didn't want to take measures to prolong her life. Because of the cerebral …show more content…
This principal is very relevant in the case of Bouvia vs. Supreme Court, because the basis of the case was that the hospital went against her will. In doing that the hospital took away Bouvia's autonomy. Bouvia was an intelligent lady with a college degree, though she had numerous times mentioned wanting to die she also confirmed that she did not want to commit suicide. That is a critical piece of this case because the argument that the hospital and court was arguing was that Bouvia was trying to commit suicide with the assistance of the state/ hospital. With all the facts together Bouvia would or should have been considered a rational individual making a very serious life altering decision. The principal of beneficence is defined as “we should do good to others and avoid doing them harm” (Vaughn, 10). This principal is also very relevant to this case and can really be taken from both sides. One side of the argument would be that the hospital was trying to do only good by placing the feeding tube in Bouvia and prolonging her life, therefore the hospital did no harm and the tube should remain in place. On the opposite side of the argument one could say that by placing the tube in Bouvia they prolonged her life and prolonged her suffering, therefore causing more harm then good to Bouvia and the tube should be