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Importance of patient care
is healthcare important
is healthcare important
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What’s that you say Doctor? I’ve got cancer… That doesn’t sound good, and by the way that you’re telling me, it’s probably worse than that. Well, I knew that this day was coming… Doctor? I don’t know why, but I’m not as upset by this news as I thought I would be – but I do know one thing, I don’t want it to hurt.
What will “Fred” choose to do? What is Fred allowed to do? Fred had his mind wrapped around the idea of his death years ago, but who can be completely ready for the moment when we hear the news that our life will be over soon? In our existence, what greater event besides birth can compete with death? Most of us have pondered the circumstances of our own death, what we’d do, and how we would deal with it. As we grow older, the weight of these musings become more significant, and the plans become more detailed, serious, or urgent. Fred has given a great deal of thought to the choices to be made before this monumental event arrives, and maybe this is why he seems so at peace with his demise. He is 83 years old, and has made all of the preparations for his death. He’s kept his will in order. His financial papers are in the hands of a trusted power of attorney. His funeral is paid for. He has a medical power of attorney and a doctor that fully understands his final wishes and has documented them… including a death with dignity arrangement.
Fred has a family history of Alzheimer’s disease, and he watched his mother waste away in body and mind. This was heart-breaking for all who witnessed her lingering and emotionally agonizing death, and he was surprised to learn that his end would be different. However, this changed nothing, his plans remained in place, and nothing would be altered.
As the cancer pr...
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...or who qualifies to unravel its mysteries.
And what of those who possess no religious affiliations of any kind? As a minority, their voices are often dismissed or ignored, and because they are by definition unaffiliated with any group, they have even less ability to have their opinions heard or taken seriously.
And then, there is Fred. The man who simply wishes to be left in peace at a time when peace is the only goal left to achieve. He has spent a lifetime writing the rulebook of for his life, and envisioning this day, had turned to the last page. Who is arrogant enough to say what Fred understands about his own life? Among the many interpretations of God’s will, should Fred’s be no less valued than anyone else’s? I say, leave the man to find his final pathway to peace. In the vast eternity of death, there must be plenty of room for spirits to soar.
. Should people have the moral right to end their lives if they so please?
Life or Death? I see it fitting to start off by actually explaining what “Right to Die” is. The Right to Die is a principle based on a person’s choice to terminate their life or to endure voluntary euthanasia. The two Supreme Court cases that relate to the constitutional Right to Die are Cruzan by Cruzan V. Director, Missouri Department of Health and Washington V. Glucksberg . The first of these cases is based on the constitutional right of the state to interfere with medical decisions. Whether the state has a right to withhold the parent’s decision to remove life-sustaining support from their child. While the second case argues whether the state has a right to restrict a patient’s decision to partake in Physician Assisted Suicide.
Chapter one – The Death – starts out with the vision that death can come very unexpectedly to anyone at anytime or any place when one least prepares for it. Death to Church and his wife as well as to many people in the world are hard to recognize and deal with. He keeps come up with questions such as “We felt him kicking just last night. What could have happened between then and now? We didn’t feel any struggle. Surely he would have alerted us if something were wrong? He could have communicated his distress, and we could have known and perhaps done something.” Church couldn’t get over the unexpected death of Montague because he thought that no way it could possibly be happened when he and his wife did not neglect any aspect of caring for the infant in the womb.
“It’s Over, Debbie” an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, written by an anonymous person, sparks a heated debate concerning the nature of euthanasia. The article is written from the perspective of gynecology resident’s. After analyzing the patient’s condition, he gives her a twenty milligram dose of morphine sulfate. This amount of dose is not concerned lethal; however, given the patient’s underweight body and medical condition was enough to kill her. The problem arises in determining whether this was active or passive euthanasia. Due to the ambiguous wording of the article, the answer can vary from reader to reader. For example, the anonymous author describes how the nurse gave the resident hurried details,
“Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Everything will be all right.” My doctor was there. That reassured me. I felt that in his presence, nothing serious could happen to me. Every one of his words was healing and every glance of his carried a message of hope. “It will hurt a little,” he said, “but it will pass. Be brave.” (79)
My claim: I argue in favor of the right to die. If someone is suffering from a terminal illness that is: 1) causing them great pain – the pain they are suffering outweighs their will to live (clarification below) 2) wants to commit suicide, and is of sound mind such that their wanting is reasonable. In this context, “sound mind” means the ability to logically reason and not act on impulses or emotions. 3) the pain cannot be reduced to the level where they no longer want to commit suicide, then they should have the right to commit suicide. It should not be considered wrong for someone to give that person the tools needed to commit suicide.
Among the files and photographs on the Internet are shocking and perverse things. One particular type of files are called “crush videos”. These videos show well-dressed women stomping, or crushing, small animals under their feet. These small, harmless animals should have certain living rights as living things. These rights should be extended to all animals, no matter what size, shape, or type of animal. With these rights, there are activists that are trying to get people to see that animals are getting abused.
The right of someone to take their own life has been a topic of debate since the time of Romans. In this paper euthanasia will be discussed including the history, current legislation, reasons for, reasons against, and the authors opinion on the topic. With an aging population, increasing lifespan, and an increasing rate of cancers euthanasia will become a larger topic of discussion in the years to come.
Merriam-Webster defines euthanasia as “the act or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals (as persons or domestic animals) in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy.” As a globally issues, euthanasia is always in controversial. Swanton,D argued that euthanasia protects the rights of individuals and the freedom of religious expression. Additionally, Sydeny,D outlines europe’s increasing acceptance of euthanasia which may mean that euthanasia is a preferable choice for people. Conversely, Fagerlin, A PhD from University of Michigan Medical School and Carl E. Schneider, JD from University of Michigan Law School suggest the great distortion of living wills if euthanasia is allowed. What is
The problem of euthanasia, like abortion and other controversial dilemmas of our times, divides society almost the whole of the Western world on its supporters and opponents.
Physician-assisted suicide is “the voluntary termination of one's own life by administration of a lethal substance with the direct or indirect assistance of a physician. Physician-assisted suicide is the practice of providing a competent patient with a prescription for medication for the patient to use with the primary intention of ending his or her own life.” (medterms.com) Surveys have shown physician-assisted suicide to be gaining more and more support amongst doctors and “up to half of adults believe it should be legal in cases of terminal illnesses.” (Vaugn, Page 597) In a 2000 large survey, Oncologists revealed 22.5% supported the use of physician-assisted suicide for a terminally ill patient with unremitting pain, 6.6% favored active euthanasia in these circumstances, 56.2% had received requests from patients for physician assisted suicide, 38.2% for active euthanasia, 10.8% had performed physician-assisted suicide and 3.7% active euthanasia. (Vaughn, Page 598) Not only have physician-assisted suicide begun gaining more support amongst physicians but also in the public. In a 2007 survey conducted by Ipsos-Public Affairs, results have shown that 48% of the public believe it should be legal or doctors to help terminally ill patients end their own life by giving them a prescription of fatal drugs while 44% believe it should be illegal. (Vaughn, Page 603) In the 2007 Gallup Poll, results show 56% of the public believes when a person has a disease that cannot be cured and is living in severe pain, doctors should be allowed to assist the patient to commit suicide if the patients requests it and 38% believe it should not be allowed and 49% of the public believes that physician-assisted suicide is morally acceptable while 44% beli...
The question of euthanasia is one that has plagued the human sense of morale for centuries. With modern medical technology it becomes even more pressing. I will cover three aspects of Euthanasia including three principles for, three principles against, and my own conclusion as to why Euthanasia is morally justified.
For years many different people from many different walks of life have had different opinions about abortion. For some abortion is never wrong, for others under certain circumstances it is O.K., and for still some others it is never right. Abortion is wrong not only because it goes against what God has said, but also because most women are so rushed into and unsure about their decision they regret it later in life.
Death is something inevitable which all human beings must have to face today or tomorrow, or some part of their life.There are many people around the world sinking their lives in the darkness of dignity. Each and every day individuals all throughout the U.S. are diagnosed with terminal illness. They are compelled to wait until they die naturally, at the same time their bodies deteriorate by their sickness that will eventually take their lives. Some of the time, this implies living excruciating pain ,and that most states in our nation cannot do anything about it legally. People should have the will to live or die as the death of dignity is one of those acts that promotes this behavior , as a result it should be legalized all over the states,
I also hope to view that giving the person the right to decide when and how to end their life when suffering from a terminal illness is also a way of preserving the quality of an individual’s life when they are faced with terminal illness. I take the view that evening individual the right to choose when and how to end their life when suffering from terminal illness help them to preserve the quality of their life because it gives them the option to end their life before they begin to lose themselves. I say this because often diseases like Cancer and Alzheimer’s can cause an individual’s brain to deteriorate therefore the individual who is suffering from the disease is gone before their body succumbs to the disease. Therefore given the person the option to end their life before this happens allows them to choose how they want their last days with her family and friends to be remembered. I find that giving the person who is suffering from a terminal illness the right to secure their legacy in this way to be a far more life-affirming way of preserving the sanctity of an individual’s life than forcing them to suffer a long and painful death from a terminal