Each and every health professional becomes a “health professional” in order to help and heal sick people, essentially to do what g-d at the moment cannot, or is too “busy” to do। For that reason alone, doctors, nurses and other health professionals must hold proper knowledge, moral values, sympathy, intelligence and even spirituality to perform their job on a daily basis। Every so often, (dreadfully often in fact), a person becomes fatally ill, and the doctors, even if they do everything in their power, cannot eliminate the illness due to its severity. At that moment the patient’s life officially becomes relatively short. Consequently, certain people do not want to endure the pain till the end of his/her days, due to the fact that pain can in fact be excruciating and agonizing, not to mention the emotional burden on the patient due to the thought of the inevitable or the thought of “the end” that is near. Shouldn’t the doctor be obligated to help end the pain and suffering, and end the patients life? There are also situations where a person’s lifestyle is compromised, where limbs are amputated for example, for the sake of a prolonged yet miserable life. Should these patients be allowed to refuse treatment? Furthermore, should we be obligated to end their life? (If asked, off coarse) In this essay I will attempt to address these issues by giving examples of some known situations, and also to attempt to give an argument on each side of the debate.
The tale of Don Cowart is quite extraordinary, due to the fact that it builds feelings of compassion, and one can put him/herself into Don’s shoes and really feel what he felt while enduring the agony of his terrible fate. Don had a terrible accident where over 65 percent of his body was severely burned. His face suffered third-degree burns and both of his eyes were severely damaged. His ears and hands were also severely burned. At the first chance he got, he had asked for a gun to kill himself, but was refused. Furthermore, throughout the entire stay in the hospital Don made a clear wish many, many times that he didn’t want treatment that would extend his misery and he made this known to his mother and family, Dr. Charles Baxter, a nurse, longtime friend Art Rousseau, attorney Rex Houston, and many others. Failing to receive Ada Cowart’s and Rex Houston’s consent to the withdrawal of treatment, Baxter continued to deliver it. The day preceding his last surgery, Cowart had agreed to undergo the surgery, but the night before he changed his mind. The next morning, Larson angrily confronted Cowart with the challenge that if he really wanted to die, he would agree to the surgery that would enable him to go home where he could take his life if he wished (Eth.Iss.P.302).
Doesn’t that story just make you want to cry? I feel so much for Don’s unfortunate situation, I feel bad for his mother as well. If I were in Don’s shoes I would want to die too, due to the fact that the pain must have been excruciating, he felt completely dependent on everyone else, and absolutely helpless. Not to mention the fact that his life would now be completely different and the quality of life would be tremendously diminished. On the other hand, his mother couldn’t allow her son to die, the burden of which would be too much for her to handle. According to Robert B. White
(Commentary), “Another question occurred to me as I watched this blind, maimed, and
totally helpless man defy and battle everyone: could his adamant stand be the only way
available for him to regain his independence after such a long period of helplessness and total dependence? (Eth.Iss. P.305) In my opinion it was also unfair for him, no matter the condition, to want others to help him end his life. At the same time, on one occasion Donald put the matter very bluntly: “What gives a physician the right to keep alive a patient who wants to die?”(Eth.Iss. P.306) This is simple-Paternalism, interference of somebody’s judgment for that person’s benefit. Maybe in some cases like this case paternalism is in fact justified, but at the same time maybe Donald should have been allowed to refuse life-saving treatment, who knows? Nevertheless, if Donald really wanted to end his life he would have done it when he got home, after the surgery.
Diane’s case is quite different where she was suffering no pain, but was diagnosed with acute myelomonocytic leukemia, which cures 25% out of 100% of the time. The treatment would be induction chemotherapy (three weeks in the hospital, prolonged neutropenia, probable infectious complications, and hair loss. All Diane wanted to do was to go home and be with her family, and decided that she did not want any treatment at all. In time, she phoned the doctor with the request of barbiturates for sleep. The doctor made sure that she knew how many barbiturates was needed for sleep and also how much was needed for suicide. When bone pain, weakness, fatigue and fevers began to trouble her repeatedly she said goodbye to her loved ones, and within an hour died in her sleep.
Even though what the doctor did was illegal being that it’s only legal in the state of Oregon, perhaps he merely saved Diane the despair of having to secretly take her own life, and die in immense struggle and pain. What if then her attempted suicide would fail and she would become a vegetable along with the other fatal illnesses that she already had. Subsequently that ordeal would be even more unbearable and agonizing on Diane and her family. Perhaps if I were in her shoes I would also want to end my own life, where the tumor of mental pessimism would spread and cause extreme depression to my being. In my opinion a 25% chance of life is a pretty good percentage. Sometimes a combination of hope, faith, and emotional support from loved ones can work miracles. My father was diagnosed with acute lung cancer that spread to his lungs and also to his adrenal glands, and the cancer was in its last stages in which the cancer cells were multiplying. The doctor had told us that he has less than six months to live, and theres a very little chance of long-term survival. However, we grabbed on to hope and faith like a drowning victim to a lifeboat. And then a miracle had happened, its now been ten months after the initial diagnosis, and with a right balance of chemotherapy and medication, “ALL” of the cancer is completely gone. In my story you can clearly see the implied foolishness of refusal of treatment, and loss of hope. It is the easiest thing in the world to lose hope in situations like this and become depressed, and consequently maybe refuse treatment, and also want to end your life. But how about fighting for survival, fighting for this life that was a gift from g-d!
Mary Northern is a 72-year-old patient who suffered gangrene of both feet due
to unsanitary conditions in her lonesome apartment. According to complaint letters from Drs. Amos D. Tackett and R. Benton Adkins, “Mrs. Northern does not understand the severity or consequences of her disease process and does not appear to understand that failure to amputate her feet at this time would probably result in her death. It is out recommendation as the physicians in charge of her case, that she undergo amputation of both her feet as soon as possible.”(Eth.Iss.P.284-285) Mrs. Northern was in denial, where she thought her feet were getting better, and she also did not express a wish to die. She was simply not willing to make a decision, and maybe she wanted someone else to make a decision for her, when the time came-say if for example her feet would in fact get so bad where she would be unconscious. In my opinion, she was incompetent to make this decision, and situations like this require someone else on behalf of her to make the proper decision for surgery and have a life saved. On the other hand, maybe Mary Northern would rather die but save her feet, and the reason why she didn’t articulate this with words. The only thing that was apparent was the fact that she wanted to live and keep her feet, she was not showing the ability to understand that if she wouldn’t have her legs amputated she would die, as she did. When the decision for surgery was finally made, it was too late and shortly after she passed. Very sad situation, when I read this case I pictured my grandmother rationalizing in the same matter, and I would agree on paternalism decision making in this case.
When I first chose to look into these different yet similar topics, I was just concerned that individuals should be given a right to die if it is their wish to do so. After all of my research and reading I have been enlightened that this really isn’t just about rights. This issue is really about the strength of people’s spiritual will to live. I have seen stories of people paralyzed from the neck down, had both of their legs amputated, but have still been satisfied with their quality of life. On the other hand, there are people who have been in a comatose state for less than a day and wake up slightly brain damaged, but not have a will to attempt to recovery. www.PassNurseExams.com