Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Introduction
Is Euthanasia (physician assisted suicide) a merciful act or a murderous act? This is the question at stake and the topic of my blog. A lot comes into play with the topic of euthanasia. By definition euthanasia is “the intentional killing by act or omission of a dependent human being for his or her alleged benefit.” http://www.nrlc.org/euthanasia/index.html. Some think that it is a way for terminally ill patients to be put out of their misery, while others believe that it is just a cry for help where most of the patients are depressed and not thinking clearly. http://www.nrlc.org/euthanasia/facts/keypoints.html . I am proposing that physician assisted suicide is not a way to solve the problems of people going through pain. The second part of the word healthcare is CARE. It is a doctor’s job and duty to care for their patients and to “keep them from harm and injustice.” http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/doctors/oath_classical.html. The act of assisting someone to end their lives is totally an injustice and is inflicting harm on the patient which goes against the Hippocratic Oath. A oath that all health care providers are supposed to follow. When you assist someone to kill themselves, problems are not solved just because the life of the person with the problem has ended. You are giving up on the person and their condition, and by doing so you are also allowing the patient to give up on themselves and their life. There is so much at stake with this topic and the possibility of lives being loss is serious. What do you think about the practice of physician assisted suicide?
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I think that there are a lot of grey areas that come along with the subject of physician assisted suicide. You make a good point that it is the doctor's responisbility to care for their patients, but what if the doctor knows that there is absolutely no chance of survival, and the patient is in absolute pain? In some cases a patient may just be looking for an easy way out, but if that patient is in the right state of mind is it morally wrong? With these types of circumstances I just try to imagine what I would want if I was in that situation. For example, if I was extremely sick in the hospital and every day was the hardest struggle and every movement I made was the worst pain I have ever felt I might want Euthanasia. Although I do believe if Euthanasia were a legal practice there may be many questionable instances involved.
ReplyDeleteHmmm...physician assisted suicide...interesting topic. This might sound a little harsh but why do people go to the medical professionals in order to end their lives? That sounds a bit contradicting.
ReplyDeleteAfter I said that I realized that patients may have been just a little sick before but then their condition worsened over the time span in the hospital.
Physician-assisted suicide is morally wrong. What healthcare professionals learn in their early careers is to take care of the patient. Yes, care is the most important part in healthcare.
I think you have fleshed out some of the important nuances of your topic in this post by making a moral distinction between what a doctor ought or ought not to do based on the Hippocratic Oath. Yet, whilst I generally agree with you that euthanasia may seem counterintuitive as a convenient substitute for patient-care, it may perhaps be necessary to consider cases where it is the patient, and not the doctor, who asks to be euthanized. I am of course, talking here about patients who are rational enough to do so, in light of the immense amounts of pain they face with the knowledge that their only respite is death. Do we simply deny them this right to end their suffering? Hence, your argument could perhaps focus on the moral acceptablity of certain cases, rather than an outright rejection of all forms of euthanasia.
ReplyDeleteNew Blogger,
ReplyDeleteIf it is said that “there is absolutely no chance of survival” then I am not sure if I would want that doctor taking care of me. Many vaccines and antibiotics have been invented when all odds were against the medical situation. If euthanasia were to be legalized I can’t help but wonder if there will be a rising sentiment for doctors who just want to wipe their hands clean of a patient. This is not to say that all doctors will think this, in fact I do not believe that the vast majority of them would, but the small percentage is lives lost and as a future health care professional myself I just cannot stand for this to happen!
nonlinearperspective,
It is funny that you post that last sentence because my next post is on that very subject. Check it out and let me know what you think.
(Thanks for the comments)