I am needing help with my upcoming paper. This is part two of the paper, the first paper I wrote and have attached the file called week 3 RUA, please read week 3 RUA to base the second paper off of th

Ethics of Euthanasia

Name

College

NR449: Evidence Based Practice

Professor

Date

Ethics of Euthanasia

Throughout my learning in nursing school, we have always discussed about the four main ethical principles, which include: autonomy, beneficence, justice, and nonmaleficence. These concepts serve as a foundation for ethical decision-making and guide moral concerns in healthcare and other disciplines. As nurses we should be giving equal care, we should not do any harm to patients, but what about ethics of euthanasia? “The term "euthanasia" refers to the practice in which a physician assists a patient in committing suicide by administering a lethal dose of medication” (Takla et al., 2020).

Is it morally right to euthanasia the life of a terminally ill patient who’s been suffering from a chronic illness?

While determining care we should always be an advocate and have our patient’s best interest. Though should you use the same thought process for a patient who has a chronic illness and is not getting any better? For example, a patient with dementia, determining whether a person with advanced dementia retains decision-making capacity is an ethical challenge. Evaluation of decision-making ability in individuals with cognitive impairments is difficult and subject to change as time goes on. Many dementia patients who undergo euthanasia have previously expressed their desire for the procedure in a living will or other form of advance directive drafted prior to the onset of the condition. “The decision to terminate the lives of approximately 10.8% of patients was based on fragments of evidence and written/oral instructions, indicating that these individuals lacked full mental capacity” (Groenewoud et al., 2022). Does the use of non-pharmacological interventions, in comparison to standard care or no specific non-pharmacological intervention, result in improvements in cognitive function, quality of life, and behavior in moderate-to-severe dementia patients over a six-month period? The purpose of this paper is to determine if it is ethically appropriate to euthanasia on a patient with a chronic illness such as dementia.

Levels of Evidence

When determining the reliability of a particular research finding, researchers typically refer to the levels of research. Various types of research initiatives offer solutions to various clinical concerns. You seek the strongest evidence possible, but you may not always discover it, or you cannot always use the same research design. In this particular situation we want to know is ethics of euthanasia (assisted suicide) appropriate of not only patients with dementia but just anyone with a chronic illness that may hinder their overall health leading to death. Expert opinions and philosophical analyses, both of which provide vital perspectives and knowledge on moral dilemmas, are just as important for answering pertinent questions.

From my articles I have chosen one of the best ways to answer my question is through a qualitative study. There were a total of 1117 euthanasia instances reported in the Netherlands between 2012 and 2020; 111 of these were selected for qualitative content analysis. “The first analytical framework is based on five ethical principles and six standards of care” (Groenewoud et al., 2022).

Search Strategy

During my search of the two articles I chose, I started my search through our Chamberlain library since this resource database usually has a lot of good options to pick from. In the search bar I first typed in “Ethics of Euthanasia” since this was our group topic. I then modified the publication dates and resource type (articles, books, etc.), to make it easier and have an up-to-date article. My thought process while looking for an article was I wanted to talk about what ethics of euthanasia is, along with following our sub-topic of asking “is morally ethical to euthanasia a life of a patient who is terminally ill” such as a patient with dementia. This is when I found both articles: “The Ethics of Euthanasia in dementia: A Qualitative Content Analysis of Case Summaries” and “A Conscious Choice: Is it Ethical to Aim for Unconsciousness at the end of Life” that I believe will guide me to my answer.

Conclusion

Concerns regarding ethics and morality surround the practice of euthanasia, in which a person's life is voluntarily terminated to alleviate their suffering. It is a complex and divisive issue, with many individuals holding strong opinions. As I continue my research on this topic, I expect that the articles I've chosen will help my group and I determine whether we believe it is appropriate end a life of a terminally ill patient or not.

References

Groenewoud, A. S., Leijten, E., van den Oever, S., van Sommeren, J., & Boer, T. A. (2022b). The ethics of euthanasia in dementia: A qualitative content analysis of case summaries (2012–2020). Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 70(6), 1704–1716. https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.17707

Takla, A., Savulescu, J., & Wilkinson, D. J. (2020). A conscious choice: Is it ethical to aim for unconsciousness at the end of life? Bioethics, 35(3), 284–291. https://doi.org/10.1111/bioe.12838