Instructions Conclusion and AbstractFollow the directions below for the completion of the conclusion and abstract assignment for Unit VIII. If you have questions, please email your professor for assis

IS EUTHANASIA MORALLY ACCEPTABLE? (The body)

NAME: Rebecca L Parks

IS EUTHANASIA MORALLY ACCEPTABLE?

We agree that human life expectancy has reduced gradually from 78.6 to 72.8 years, mainly because of covid19. It means that between 2019 and 2020, there was a 0.24% reduction in life expectancy. Additionally, we have to account for the gradual increase in acute illnesses such as cancer, diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, etc. However, euthanasia is a controversial issue where different people have varied arguments based on their religion, race, geographical area, etc. Firstly, euthanasia is directly related to killing an innocent human being according to the religious view. As a Christian, my parent taught me the importance of caring for others, especially the sick, elderly, and the needy. Therefore, agreeing to euthanasia means that the people involved will not have eternal life for not doing good deeds while alive. Additionally, Christians believe that God has given doctors the power to heal, therefore killing the very sick people means that we do not believe in God’s gift and command of “do not commit murder.” Rachels (2019). 

Others argue that euthanasia is the best approach to relieve pain and suffering for critically sick people in hospitals. Currently, technology has developed steadily where scientists have created machines that can keep one alive for the longest possible. However, such people tend to suffer and feel pain when connected to the machines. Remember, hospital-related diseases like pressure ulcers occur in various body parts due to prolonged machine use. Therefore, by failing to consent to euthanasia, we leave our people to suffer and get exposed to harrowing deaths. Additionally, there are irreversible conditions, such as when one is involved in a fatal fire or vehicle accident or when cancerous cells metastasized almost all parts of the body, there are slim chances of such a patient’s survival. Therefore, using euthanasia, such patients receive painless and honorable deaths compared to those who remained in ICU beds for years and later passed on. Therefore, it’s essential to consider several factors before considering euthanasia decisions. For example, a healthy patient cannot be allowed to request euthanasia. Miller et al. (2019).

Another argument against euthanasia is it is against the role and practices of healthcare officials. Before beginning service delivery, most healthcare attendants swear to protect lives and promote the interest of their patients. Therefore, accepting euthanasia means these doctors are underqualified or incompetent since they should engage in all possible activities to restore their patient’s health. Another ethical practice of healthcare attendants is nonmaleficence. It means that they are not supposed to harm their patients by engaging in activities that may cause suffering, pain, or death. Therefore, by engaging in euthanasia, they go against this ethical principle. On the contrary, the healthcare practitioners have the patient’s autonomy ethical principle. It includes the right to listen to their patient’s interests and ideas before making vital decisions. Therefore, they should allow their patients to freely decide whether they want to live or die based on their circumstances. In such events, the healthcare practitioner should listen to the patient’s ideas and views; therefore, they should agree if the patient agrees to end their life. Pesut et al. (2020).

References

Miller, D. G., Dresser, R., & Kim, S. Y. (2019). Advance euthanasia directives: a controversial case and its ethical implications. Journal of medical ethics, 45(2), 84-89. https://jme.bmj.com/content/45/2/84.abstract

Pesut, B., Greig, M., Thorne, S., Storch, J., Burgess, M., Tishelman, C., ... & Janke, R. (2020). Nursing and euthanasia: A narrative review of the nursing ethics literature. Nursing ethics, 27(1), 152-167. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0969733019845127

Rachels, J. A. (2019). Active and passive euthanasia (pp. 273-279). Duke University Press. https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781478004356-039/html