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... aw. This society believes that life is worth protecting. Humans have an immortal soul and are made in the image of God, but now society is faced with these questions: What rights do the families have?
Does this society have the right to play God and say these people should continue suffering? Is euthanasia right or wrong? Society needs answers to these questions (Kluge, 141). It is necessary for society to "recognize and respect that moment in illness when it no longer makes sense to bend every effort to cure or to prolong life and when one must allow patients to do their own dying" (May, 662).
Society needs to allow these people to make their own decisions and allow the comatose patient to "die with dignity. " Society needs to give the patient the control over the quality of his or her life. To live a life as a human vegetable is undignified and dehumanizing. The Florida Supreme Court, in a ruling on a case regarding guardianship of comatose patient Estelle M. Browning, stated his or her person" (14 - 90). Something must be done to make sure patients have this control. Safeguards must be taken to make sure all wishes of the incapacitated patients will be carried out.
Society also has the obligation to make sure families won't be torn apart due to conflicts arising in the care of the incapacitated. Families need to be prepared for what is ahead in taking care of the comatose. There needs to be a oneness of family to help them decide what is right and in the best interest of their loved one. Their motivation must be one that comes out of love and concern. A heavy burden falls on the family, not only of a physical nature but mental as well. Deciding not to prolong a loved one's life is not an easy decision.
Families deal with depression and conflict even when they know they acted on the best interests of the patient (Kluge, 76 - 77) Another feeling that comes with the decisions of disconnecting of life-support is guilt. Being responsible for ending a persons life can have a mental impact on that person (Ellman 47). Feelings of whether the decision made was correct or not can lead to these guilt feelings. Educating families and informing then of their rights may case these feelings that accompany their decisions. Preparing for the future is something that everyone needs to do. Two options that are available to everyone are living wills and power of attorney.
Before following through with either of these options people need to be educated as to what they are and how they can save them from needless pain and suffering. Hospitals need to be equipped with personnel that can counsel patients and inform them of their options. Committees need to work with doctors and families to decide if and when death may be in the patients' best interest. Education Patients, staff and the community can save many people from needless suffering (Capron, 36). The living will is the best assurance that a patient would be allowed to die free from any invasion by the medical field. Although many people say they wouldn't want to be kept alive by artificial means a study done in 1988 showed that only 15 percent of Americans have made out a living will.
A living will is a document that gives legal direction setting forth circumstances under which a person would not want to be kept alive. This includes artificial means such as respirators and feeding tubes. A patient must be very specific in the terms of the living will. The Declaration of Living Will states that being of sound mind a person willfully and voluntarily makes known that their wishes not to be kept alive by artificial means. If also states: If the time comes when I can no longer take part in decisions for my own future, let this statement stand as a testament of my wishes: If there is no reasonable expectation of my recovery from physical or mental disability, I, request that I be allowed to die and not be kept alive by artificial means or heroic measures. Death is as much a reality as birth, growth, maturity and old age - it is the one certainty.
I do not fear death as much as I fear the indignity of deterioration, dependence and hopeless pain. I ask that medication be mercifully administered to me for terminal suffering even if it hastens the moment of my death. (Kluge, 42 - 43) Living wills also need to be altered according to different conditions in different states. Additions need to be made to cover specific details concerning ventilators and nutrition tubes. As stated earlier, 40 states and the District of Columbia honor living wills permitting people to designate under what condition they want to be treated and when they would prefer to die. Even with a living will some doctors and hospitals still have the right to refuse to honor those wishes even when death is imminent. A safeguard for patients goes into effect in December of 1991 called the Patient Self Determination Act of 1990.
This law states that nursing facilities and other health care providers will be required to discuss state laws regarding living wills and other advance directions with new patients. They also will be required to outline facility policies governing these issues. This is to protect the medical field from any unnecessary law suits due to miscommunication (Riley 16). Power of Attorney is another way to make sure the requests of patient's are kep. Power of Attorney is a right given to a person of the patients choosing to make personal care and medical decisions if the patient should become incapacitated or unable to make these decisions. Illinois and Wisconsin have jurisdiction with durable Power of Attorney statures that allow guardians to make medical decisions including decisions to withdraw or withhold life support.
The guardian can act when the patient cannot make his or her own medical decisions (Riley 16). In the case of Gary Fickle, Power of Attorney was given to his parents which enabled them to withdraw his life support. Like the Living Will, Power of Attorney needs to have supplementary notations made to it concerning items not specifically covered by one's home state. Not all states have a durable Power of Attorney. Some states only give proxy and general Power of Attorney. Proxies are able to only make decisions on a specific act or condition and a general power of attorney makes no mention of medical decision (16).
Documentation of desires not to prolong life through the living will or power of attorney will not completely solve the problems arising over the "pulling of the plug" or allowing the incompetent patient to die but these safeguards will help to make sure the wishes of the patient will be carried out. Until the day comes when everyone has made previous decisions and provisions concerning their healthcare and death plans, and alternate guardian needs to be appointed that could act on behalf of the incapacitated. A family member would be the most likely to make decisions within the best interest of a patient. Although it will never be an easy decision to decide the death of loved one agonizing pain of seeing one you love deteriorated day after day brings more pain. We may never understand why something like this has to happen but Solomon, the great prophet of biblical times, states: To every thing there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born a time to die (Ecclesiastes 3. 1, 2) Gary Fickler was a young man whose life touched many hearts. It was his time to die but the hurt that his family went through waiting for the cessation of his life was more unbearable than his death.
Dr. Christian Barnard said, "Where there is no more joy in living, no further hope of joy and no wish to continue, there can be little problem in arriving at a decision" (98). The decision Mr. & Mrs. Fickler had to make in ending their son's life was the hardest thing they ever had to do. Society needs to make sure that families faced with these decisions are given love and support. Works Cited "Attitudes Toward Death and Dying. " Encyclopedia Britannica.
Instant Research Service 2 R- 8674. Barnard, Christian. Good Life Good Death: A Doctor's Case of Euthanasia and Suicide. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall Inc. , 1980. The Bible, Solomon. Ecclesiastes 3: 1, 2 Capron, Alexander Morgan. "The Patient Self-Determination Act: Act: Not Now. " The Hastings Center Report.
September - October 1990: 35 - 36. "Death. " Encyclopedia Britannica: Macropaedia. 1988 ed. Ellman, Ira Mark. "Can Others Exercise an Incapacitated Patient's Right to Die. " The Hastings Center Report January - February 1990: 47 - 51 "Ethics. " Encyclopedia Britannica: Macropaedia. 1988 ed. "Euthanasia. " Encyclopedia Britannica: Macropaedia. 1988 ed. "Euthanasia. " Encyclopedia Britannica USA Instant Research Service 1991 R- 3747. Jewish, D'Arcy. "The Right to Die: A Woman's Suicide Renews an Old Debate. " Maclean's 25 June 1990: 24 - 26. Kass, Leon R. "Death With Dignity and the Sanctity of Life. " Commentary March 1990: 33 - 43. Kluge, Else-Henner W.
The Ethics of Deliberate Death. Port, Washington: National University Publications, 1981. Ladd, John. Ethical Issues Relating to Life and Death. New York: Oxford University Press, 1979. Lawton, Kim A. "Has the 'Right to Die' Arrived?" Christianity Today. 20 August 1990: 38 - 39.
May, William F. "Rising to the Occasion of Our Death. " The Christianity Century. 11 July 1990: 662 - 664. "The Question of the Right to Die. " Encyclopedia Britannica USA Instant Research Service. Riley, Janet M. "Living Wills: Making Life and Death Decisions. " Provider. February 1991: 15 - 23. Wagner, Lynn. "Right-to-Die Ruling Begs the Question: Who Will Decide?" Modern Healthcare. 29 October 1990: 34 - 40.
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Research essay sample on Hastings Center Report Living Wills
