Premium Essay

Medical Ethics: The Truth Behind End Of Life Matter

Submitted By
Words 2775
Pages 12
Running head: MEDICAL ETHICS: THE TRUTH BEHIND END OF LIFE MATTER 1

HLST 4010
Professor Geoffrey Reaume
Lilyana Nooro
211862935
April 7th, 2015

MEDICAL ETHICS: THE TRUTH BEHIND 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, …show more content…
Palliative care does not encourage euthanasia or assisted suicide. It is strictly to improve the quality of life for those who are either living with or dying from an illness, by offering a support system to patients (Harris, 2003). There is an ethical concern regarding palliative care because some people classify euthanasia and assisted suicide as ‘palliative care’ due to the fact that by performing these two acts, the patient is not suffering from pain anymore. Another medical decision that raises ethical questions is the refusal of medical treatment. This decision can impact the health of an individual. This is also another form of assisted suicide because the patient is informed and competent that the outcome of refusing treatment can be death. The refusal of treatment decision varies between patients who are capable and non-capable. In most cases, there is a consent and capacity board that makes a decision for the capable or incapable patients regarding treatment decisions (What is the consent and capacity board, 2013). This board helps to determine if the decision that the patient made is ethical and moral in the treating of the patient’s disease. If it is, they agree with the patient and abide the patient’s wishes. If the board disagrees, they will then take over and prepare a treatment plan that they feel is better suited for the patient’s …show more content…
A capable adult is one who is informed of his or her medical condition and is voluntary of accepting or refusing treatment. The adult can make a clear, concise, and capable decision, in this case, refusing treatment or wanting to end his or her life. Although the adult is capable and aware of making these decisions, capable and non-capable adults cannot consent to assisted suicide (Hardcastle, 2013). Certain life preserving treatment can be refused, but consenting to one’s own death is illegal (Hardcastle, 2013). For example, Elizabeth MacDonald understood her condition very well and she made it clear that she did not want to live any longer; she was capable and aware of her choice when she travelled to Zurich in order to go forth with the procedure when “ …the clinic provided Ms. MacDonald with a glass of barbiturates and told her that if she drank it, she would die…I understand that…” (Fisher, 2013, p. 265). In this case, Elizabeth was well aware and capable of her decision because she knew the condition of her illness and how it would only deteriorate and be difficult for her and her husband to eventually maintain. Although here in Canada it is illegal and she was overwhelmed that nothing could be done, she travelled and pursued her wishes with her husband by her

Similar Documents

Free Essay

End of Life

...End of Life Nursing Donnie Barnes Oklahoma Wesleyan University End of Life Nursing Every life will end in death. It can happen anywhere or anytime along the human lifespan, but it will definitely happen. Death is never an event in life that is encouraged or hope for, however when faced with impending end of life circumstances, it can be faced with dignity and decency. Many people associate end-of-life care with treating physical pain and discomfort. While that is an important part, complete end-of-life (EOL) care also includes helping the dying person manage mental and emotional distress. An elder who is nearing the end of life who is alert might understandably feel depressed or anxious. Encourage conversations, so the elder has an opportunity to talk about their feelings. You might want to contact a counselor, possibly one familiar with end-of-life issues. If the depression or anxiety is severe, medicine might provide relief. A dying person might also have some specific fears and concerns. He or she may fear the unknown or worry about those left behind. Some people are afraid of being alone at the very end. This feeling can be made worse by the understandable reactions of family, friends, and even the medical team. For example, when family and friends do not know how to help or what to say, sometimes they stop visiting. Or, someone who is already beginning to grieve may withdraw. Doctors may become discouraged because they can't cure their patient and feel helpless...

Words: 1308 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Miss Evers' Boys

...In 1932 the federal government commenced a medical study called The Tuskegee Study of Untreated Blacks with Syphilis in Macon County, Alabama. Four hundred and twelve men infected with the disease were selected for the study that faked long term treatment while really only giving placebos and liniments. The goal of this study was to determine if blacks reacted similar to the whites to the effects of the syphilis disease. After forty years it was discontinued and the Senate initiated an investigation of the study. At the time of the investigation, only one hundred and twenty-seven of the study’s original participants were still alive and had not died from the disease (Morehan, 2007). In the film, the story is told from the view point of Nurse Eunice Evers, one key character in the movie, who played the role of the real- life nurse who was a part of the Tuskegee Study. The movie, Miss Evers’ Boys portrays “the emotional effects of one of most amoral instances of governmental experimentation on humans ever perpetrated” (Morehan, 2007). It depicts the government’s involvement in research targeting a group of African American males, as it explores the depths of human tragedy and suffering that result from unethical act. The film also unveiled the racial tension that existed in America which did not only occur in the segregation of skin color but also founded upon disease (Morehan, 2007). The purpose of this paper is to analyze the film in order to critically examine bioethical issues...

Words: 4905 - Pages: 20

Premium Essay

Ethics in Medicine

...Ethics in Medicine: The Moral Compass Introduction to Health Care 02/16/15 Morals are the compass each of us have inside of us that help us to make decisions. They guide towards good and evil, or right and wrong. The thing that makes morals so unique and interesting is that no two compasses are exactly the same just as no two people are the same. The health care industry is probably one of the most praised and criticized industries for its moral compass. If we look solely at the topic of abortion from a moral standpoint the spectrum of beliefs is very wide. This paper will discuss four different moral principles and compare them. The first moral principle is beneficence. Beneficence is defined as “acts of mercy, kindness, and charity.”(1) It can also mean to, “Refer to an action done to benefit others”(1). In terms of medicine this means to do all that you can do to your patients. This principle is unique because how do you define what a benefit to another is. For example physician assisted suicide for example is a benefit to the person who is ill. But what is the benefit to the child or parent whom is left behind. Let’s say someone has ALS, the prognosis is terminal. They are going to die from this disease because the fluid will continue to build in their lungs and eventually they will stop breathing. Now if that person who is suffering tremendously with their illness can benefit and not suffer anymore isn’t the physician helping them? Or is the physician...

Words: 1493 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Etica

...In Conjunction with  History of Ethics Instructor: Robert Cavalier Teaching Professor Robert Cavalier received his BA from New York University and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Duquesne University. In 1987 he joined the staff at Carnegie Mellon's Center for Design of Educational Computing (CDEC), where he became Executive Director in 1991. While at CDEC, he was also co-principal in the 1989 EDUCOM award winner for Best Humanities Software (published in 1996 by Routledge as A Right to Die? The Dax Cowart Case). He also coauthored the CD-ROM The Issue of Abortion in America (Rountledge, 1998) Dr. Cavalier was Director of CMU's Center for the Advancement of Applied Ethics and Political Philosophy from 2005-2007. He currently directs the Center's Digital Media Lab which houses Project PICOLA (Public Informed Citizen Online Assembly), and is also co-Director of Southwestern Pennsylvania Program for Deliberative Democracy. Co-Editor of Ethics in the History of Western Philosophy (St. Martin's/Macmillan, England, 1990), Editor of The Impact of the Internet on Our Moral Lives (SUNY, 2003) and other works in ethics as well as articles in educational computing, Dr. Cavalier is internationally recognized for his work in education and interactive multimedia. He was President of the "International Association for Computing and Philosophy" (2001 - 2004) and Chair of the APA Committee on Philosophy and Computers (2000-2003). Dr. Cavalier has given numerous addresses and...

Words: 14800 - Pages: 60

Premium Essay

Collect Your Food!

...Subject: Indian Ethos in Management SYLLABUS Class: - B.B.A. VI Semester Subject: - Indian Ethos in Management Unit-I Business Ethics: Introduction, Business Ethics and Management, Business Ethics and Moral Obligations; Corporate Social Responsibility; Corporate Governance; Report of the Kumar Mangalam Birla Committee on Corporate Governance; Role of Media in Ensuring Corporate Governance; Environmental Concerns and Corporations. Ethical Issues related with Advertisement and Marketing; Secular versus Spritual Values in Management, Work Ethics, Stress at Workplace Relevance of Values in Management; Gandhian Approach in Management and Trusteeship; Social Values and Political Environment Indian Ethos: Values and Ethics; Requisites for Ethics Globally A Holistic Management System; Management in Indian Perspective Unit-II Unit-III Unit-IV Unit-V 45, Anurag Nagar, Behind Press Complex, Indore (M.P.) Ph.: 4262100, www.rccmindore.com 1 B.B.A. VI Semester Subject: Indian Ethos in Management UNIT – 1 BUSINESS ETHICS Business ethics is nothing but the application of ethics in business. Business ethics is the application of general ethical ideas to business behavior. Ethical business behavior facilitates and promotes good to society, improves profitability, fosters business relations and employee productivity. The concept of business ethics has come to mean various things to various people, but generally it‘s coming to know what it right or wrong in the workplace and...

Words: 9495 - Pages: 38

Premium Essay

Philo

...Business Ethics (Supplementary Lecture Notes) Mr. Joel C. Porras “Watch your thoughts, they become words. Watch your words, they become actions. Watch your actios, they become habits. Watch your habits, they become character. Watch your character, they beconme your destiny.” ANONYMOUS Preliminary Notions: A. Etymological: The word ethics comes from the Greek word “ethos” ,meaning : custom, a habitual way of acting character, a meaning that the Latin terms “mos” , “moris” also connote. Among the Greeks , “ethics” meant what concerns human conduct/human action. B. Descriptive: Largely a concern of cultural anthropologists and sociologists. Its task is to describe how some person, members of a culture or society address all sorts of moral issues, what customs they have, and so, how they are accustomed to behave. C. Met-ethics: Concerns itself with the meanings of moral terms: like good and bad, right and wrong, duties and rights, etc. Hence the concern is with the understanding of the use of these terms, their logical forms and the objects to which they refer. Sometimes the concern of meta-ethicist is even more fundamental: What is the possibility of moral philosophy. D. Normative: Ethics is normative, not in the way that logic is, namely. With regard to the correctness of our thinking, but with regard to the goodness of our living, the right orientation of our existence. It is a practical science, not simply because it treats human action,...

Words: 17119 - Pages: 69

Premium Essay

Comm400 Week 4 Lt

...Thesis Statement The combination of Ethics and Social media is complicated. What people say online is considered their written word. Professionals often struggle with befriending clients or co-workers. Subordinates sometimes feel pressure when their bosses request friendships. The Social Media frenzy has given professionals the opportunity to communicate with clients online but the rules of confidentiality are sometimes vague. Mass media and ethics in today’s society raises many concerns as decisions are made daily involving ethics and such decisions possess the ability to impact the lives of millions of people, whom read, watch, listen, or browse through a media source outlet. To prevent a formal code of ethics from being broken through mass media, in this case-social media, it is important to understand ethical compliance, especially in the workplace. I. Legal and Ethical Issues associated with Social Media A. Privacy Policies    1. Copyright, Piracy and Libel are all issues directly associated with the ethics of social media. Using someone else’s words or speaking negatively about someone in a way that harms their reputation presents a gray area for social media users. 2. Websites are often constructed to defame someone’s character. There is virtually no way to keep people from going live with these sites. Minimal judgments have been issued mandating the removal of defaming information from websites. II. Social Media and Educational Facilities A. Student Confidentiality...

Words: 2882 - Pages: 12

Free Essay

Whose Job Is Famine Relief

...Whose Job is Famine Relief? PHI 208 Ethics and Moral Reasoning December 12, 2012 Everyday on television one will view several commercials about giving to another country, to help the starving children. When Peter Singer wrote his article in 1971“Famine, Affluence and Morality” he was able to give a disastrous review of what readers may ordinarily think about different things such as charity and famine relief and if it is moral. Why is there so much famine around the world? Some put blame on lack of food and shelter with no medical care. Others believe that if there was a population control put in place that this perhaps would solve the issue of famine, with as long as these severely poor countries are still giving birth to children, famine becomes a vicious circle. Is it really the obligations of those who live in wealthier countries to support those in other countries? Should these countries make sure their own people are taken care of first? This is the argument that Mr. Singer presents in his paper. One has the moral obligation is to help others in need whether it be a cup of coffee or assisting in drilling a well for water and no matter if they are next door or across the world. With three different premises and a conclusion Singer argues for relief. The first of the three premises is understood when Singer said “that suffering and death from lack of food, shelter and medical care are bad” (Singer, 1972, pg. 231). The next of these three premises...

Words: 1052 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Ethics

...Ethics The field of ethics (or moral philosophy) involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior. Philosophers today usually divide ethical theories into three general subject areas: metaethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics. Metaethics investigates where our ethical principles come from, and what they mean. Are they merely social inventions? Do they involve more than expressions of our individual emotions? Metaethical answers to these questions focus on the issues of universal truths, the will of God, the role of reason in ethical judgments, and the meaning of ethical terms themselves. Normative ethics takes on a more practical task, which is to arrive at moral standards that regulate right and wrong conduct. This may involve articulating the good habits that we should acquire, the duties that we should follow, or the consequences of our behavior on others. Finally, applied ethics involves examining specific controversial issues, such as abortion, infanticide, animal rights, environmental concerns, homosexuality, capital punishment, or nuclear war. By using the conceptual tools of metaethics and normative ethics, discussions in applied ethics try to resolve these controversial issues. The lines of distinction between metaethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics are often blurry. For example, the issue of abortion is an applied ethical topic since it involves a specific type of controversial behavior. But it also depends...

Words: 6480 - Pages: 26

Premium Essay

Rhetoric

...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 morality. His tone is similar to that of a sermon; instead of utilizing scientific facts or statistics, May chooses to exclude a logos appeal in favor of an ethos objective. He preaches on moral values about life and death, mentioning that “the best death is not always the sudden...

Words: 3937 - Pages: 16

Free Essay

Naturalism

...reality and is there beyond or behind other than nature. For naturalists, nature is everything and nothing exists superior than nature. So they separate nature from God and allot no space for supernaturalism and spiritualism. They also believe that all our activities are initiated by our instincts. Naturalism stresses the need to return to nature from artificiality. It is also concerned with natural self and believes that reality and nature are identical and beyond nature there is no reality .With the help of physical and chemical laws, naturalism explains the universe, the physical world, life and mind. This nature is governed by its own laws and man is regarded as the child of nature. It considers matter as superior to spirit and gives importance to scientific methods of observation and verification. MEANING OF NATURALISM The term naturalism, by its ordinary meaning, means ism laying emphasis nature in every field of education. Naturalism is a system which follows exclusion of whatever is spiritual, or indeed whatever is transcendental of experience from our philosophy of nature and man. Naturalism is a doctrine that separates nature from god, subordinates sprit to matter and setup unchangeable laws as supreme. According to naturalism, ‘material world is the real world”. Naturalism is concerned with ‘natural self’ or ‘real self’. According to naturalists, human life is a part of nature; it is a self-sufficient entity having its own natural matter, natural forces and natural...

Words: 5413 - Pages: 22

Premium Essay

Philosophy

...Assignment 1: Application of the Normative Ethical Theories * 15% of your final mark * Length: 1000 ±100 words * Submit after completing Units 1 & 2 (approximately 5 weeks into the course, according to the recommended schedule). 1. Choose ONE of the cases that appear in Units 1 & 2 of the Philosophy 333 Study Guide except Case 2. 1. However, please refer to the discussion regarding Case 2.1 in Unit 2, under the heading “Applying Normative Theories to a Moral Situation”, as an example of how to apply moral theories to a case. 2. Clearly state a professional ethics issue that pertains to the case. It is recommended that you state your issue in question form. 3. Choose TWO out of the five moral theories studied in Unit 2, but only one version of Utilitarian theory at most (e.g. not both Act and Rule Utilitarianism). 4. In essay-form[1], and in one document, apply each of the two theories to the case, focusing on your stated issue, by doing the following: a. For each theory, provide an explanation of the theories basic approach to moral evaluation and decision making. b. Ethically analyze your stated issue using each of the two theories. The idea here is to adopt the strategy of each of the theories to present what you think is a reasonable and balanced ethical analysis of your issue. In doing so, your aims are (i) to show that you understand how the theories work and (ii) to show that you can use them to express the ethical reasoning...

Words: 10819 - Pages: 44

Premium Essay

New Product Development and Ethics

...iour” (2008) Melissa S. Baucus et al explains how “Employees are told to relax standards as they seek to innovate and, to enhance creativity”. The authors described the four prescriptions that are stimulated among in-dividuals in order to make them more crea-tive which are: New Product Development and Ethics From New Product Development (NDP) to Sustain-able New Product development (SNPD) The present review aims at being a summary of the main academic articles about project in-novation and the ethical considerations behind them. In 2007 Melissa S Baucus expressed her concern for the fact that creativity researchers rarely discuss ethics. Although the num-ber of companies with ethical considerations is increasing and many are considering words such as sustainability and respect to human rights to their values and mission statements, still they are rarely consider in day to day of business planning and Innovation, Creativity, Stage Gate Controls are words which remain with a weak connection to ethics. The lack of ethical considerations has led to the creation of scenarios such as Colombia where multinational companies are developing new systems in order to extract the gold and other minerals hidden under the Colombian soil. Engineering Mining techniques are achieving the immediate goal, extract the material but they are doing it ignoring the more basic ethical considerations and to the cost of destroying both communities and environment. My hypothesis is that we need to include...

Words: 4549 - Pages: 19

Premium Essay

Good Life

...mTELECOURSE STUDY GUIDE FOR The Examined Life FOURTH EDITION author J. P. White Chair, Department of Philosophy Santa Barbara City College contributing author Manuel Velasquez Professor of Philosophy Santa Clara University This Telecourse Study Guide for The Examined Life is part of a collegelevel introduction to philosophy telecourse developed in conjunction with the video series The Examined Life, and the text Philosophy: A Text with Readings, tenth edition, by Manuel Velasquez, The Charles Dirksen Professor, Santa Clara University. The television series The Examined Life was designed and produced by INTELECOM Intelligent Telecommunications, Netherlands Educational Broadcasting Corporation (TELEAC/NOT), and Swedish Educational Broadcasting Company (UR) Copyright © 2007, 2005, 2002, 1999 by INTELECOM Intelligent Telecommunications All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of INTELECOM Intelligent Telecommunications, 150 E. Colorado Blvd., Suite 300, Pasadena, California 91105-1937. ISBN: 0-495-10302-0 Contents Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v Lesson One — What is Philosophy? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....

Words: 78103 - Pages: 313

Premium Essay

Ethics

...CONCERNING UNUSUAL IDEAS 10) ADVANCE DIRECTIVES 11) CONFIDENTIALITY 12) CONFIDENTIALITY AUDIT 13) EUTHANASIA 14) ABORTION 15) BIOTECHNOLOGY 16) SUGGESTED READING ONE – INTRODUCTION (Registrar) The importance of Ethical thinking in General Practice is becoming more and more apparent. It should not be thought that Ethics merely relates to the “Life and Death” issues in our Professional life – Abortion, Contraception, Euthanasia and the like. Ethical issues affect some part of almost every consultation, even if the ethical issue is something more mundane like obtaining adequate consent for an examination or respecting a patient’s dignity. Indeed, it could be argued that the Consultation skills that we foster so assiduously are actually Ethical skills – and that we need to know the patient’s “Ideas, Concerns and Expectations” in order to respect his Autonomy as well as in order to improve the outcome of the Consultation. In the 1998/99 academic year, I was appointed the deanery’s Medical Ethics fellow with a bursary from the MDU. I developed an approach to the teaching of GP ethics based on two half day sessions, which I presented in each VTS scheme in the deanery. The first session involved a consideration of Ethical theory. However, the more useful session was the second one where each Registrar presented an “Ethical case history” to the Registrar Group. The Case History summarised an Ethical problem that had concerned...

Words: 23465 - Pages: 94