What is Considered “Life Support”?
“The concept of life support is somewhat overblown because it never cures; it merely permits modulation of disease course so that other inventions have time to affect an actual cure” – Laura Hawryluck (Crippen 2). Life support, an extremely controversial topic, is a form of medical treatment designed to “support” an individual’s body incapable of performing simple basic functions without aid. These tasks include swallowing and breathing, as well as other bodily functions enabling us to sustain our life (“Health Library” 1). What many people are unaware of is just how exhaustive, and potentially brutal, a process life support can be. Despite its potential to sustain an individual’s life, life support should not be permitted for use because it interferes with the quality of life, it is unethical, it is financially and emotionally draining, and it provides its patients with discomfort
Those susceptible to being put on life support include “brain dead” and “vegetative” persons. The term “brain dead” is used for individuals who lack activity within the brain, thus why some functions (i.e. swallowing and breathing) are incapable of being performed. However those in a “vegetative” state may be able to perform these tasks, despite being severely, mentally crippled (Doyle 1).
In addition, those potentially nearing the end of their life may be asked a DNR, or “Do Not Resuscitate,” Order. This states that in a life-threatening emergency where one is facing possible death, no actions shall be done try and “resuscitate” the individual in an attempt to restore life to the person. However, if a DNR Order is not filled out, actions including CPR, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, mechanical ventilation, h...
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...ife support are said to be more comfortable than those who are on life support (“Heath Library” 2).
All in all, the pros of life support are far outweighed by the cons. A sustained life may sound positive; however, when a patient is on life support, the sustained life is consumed in discomfort and the quality of it is belittled. Ethicists alike are appalled that an officially classified deceased individual may further be inappropriately tested on, and the costs underwent by both the patient(s) and close friends and family alone during the duration of the treatment surely would discourage anyone from attempting to put a loved one, or be put on by a loved one, any form of medical treatment used for life support. After looking at the entirety of life support and what it is and is not capable of, ask yourself one question. “When is life support really “life support”?
As a result, life-sustaining procedures such as ventilators, feeding tubes, and treatments for infectious and terminal diseases are developing. While these life-sustaining methods have positively influenced modern medicine, they also inadvertently cause terminal patients extensive pain and suffering. Previous to the development of life-sustaining procedures, many people died in the care of their own home, however, today the majority of Americans take their last breath lying in a hospital bed. As the advancement of modern medicine continues, physicians and patients are going to encounter life-altering trials and tribulations. Arguably, the most controversial debate in modern medicine is the discussion of the ethical choice for physician-assisted suicide.
However it can also make room for medical, legal and ethical dilemmas. Advances in medical technology enable individuals to delay the inevitable fate of death, overcome cancer, diabetes, and various traumatic injuries. Our advances in medical technologies now allow these individuals to do things on their own terms. The “terminally ill” state is described as having an incurable or irreversible condition that has a high probability of causing death within a relatively short time with or without treatment (Guest, p.3, 1998). A wide range of degenerative diseases can fall into either category, ranging from, HIV/AIDS, Alzheimer’s disease and many forms of cancer. This control, however, lays assistance, whether direct or indirect, from a
The boundaries of right to die with dignity are hard to determine. Keeping the terminal patient comfortable is the purpose of comfort care, however there could be a very thin line between what we consider terminal sedation and euthanasia. In theory, comfort care is quite different from euthanasia. Keeping the patient comfortable and letting the nature take its course is at the core of comfort measures (Gamliel, 2012). Yet, the line between keeping comfortable and facilitating death is often blurry. Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering (Gamliel, 2012). The purpose of this paper is to highlight the ethical issue of keeping comfortable vs. hastening death, and the ethical principles involved. Facilitating or hastening death is considered unethical or even illegal.
Terminally ill patients deserve the right to have a dignified death. These patients should not be forced to suffer and be in agony their lasting days. The terminally ill should have this choice, because it is the only way to end their excruciating pain. These patients don’t have
...o get a do not resuscitate order. That is an order that the families may sign so the hospital does not have to give effort to bring a person back to life anymore once they have stopped breathing.
Is it moral to withdraw a life-support system which is believed to be an inappropriate extension of the dying process? The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) believes that in cases where patients are terminally ill, death appears imminent and treatment offers no medical hope for a cure, it is morally appropriate to request the withdrawal of life-support systems, allowing natural death to occur. In such cases, every effort should be made to keep the patient free of pain and suffering, with emotional and spiritual support being provided until the patient dies. The National Association of evangelicals believes that in cases where extensive brain injury has occurred and there is clear medical indication that the patient has suffered brain death (permanent unconscious state), no medical treatment can reverse the process. Removal of any extraordinary life-support system at this time is morally appropriate and allows the dying process to proceed.(National)
Unreceptively and unresponsively. “Even the most intensely painful stimuli evoke no vocal or other response, not even a groan, withdrawal of a limb or quickening of respiration,” (Ward 28). No movements or spontaneous breathing (being aided by a respirator does not count). Doctors must follow patients for at least one time of day to make sure they make no spontaneous muscular movements or spontaneous breathing. To try the latter, physicians are to bend off the respirator for three transactions to determine if the patient attempts to take a breather on his own (the trial).No reflexes. To look for reflexes, doctors are to shine a light in the eyes to make sure the pupils are enlarged. Muscles are tested. Ice water is poured in the ears. Doctors should use “electroencephalography, a test of great confirmatory value,”(Ward 32) to make sure that the patient has flat brain waves. After none of the criterions respond to the recipient, the doctor must “legally” declare the person brain dead. This is where family members often have difficult deciding whether they should continue having their loved one under life support. The respirator will continue to keep the persons organs alive for a certain period of time but family members must confront with a decision if they would want to donate or continue to have them
Almost all the sources have indicated that there are little to no benefits of keeping a brain dead patient on ventilation. Taking a closer look into; brain dead criteria; organ donation; the cost of keeping a patient on life support and case studies on those who have been misdiagnosed it will be possible to draw an accurate conclusion on whether or not there are benefits of keeping a brain dead patient on life support.
Advance directives might have many guidelines for patient’s preferences with regard to any number of life-affecting, or end of life situations, such as chronic disease or accident resulting in traumatic injury. It can include directions for other health situations, such as short-term unconsciousness, impairment by Alzheimer disease or dementia. These guidelines may consider do-not- resuscitate (DNR) orders if the heart or breathing stops, tube-feeding, or organ and tissue donation. The directive might name a specific person, or proxy, to direct care or may be very general with only basic instructions given for treatment in time of the incapacitation of a patient. Some states say that if you do not have a written directive, a spoken directive is acceptable.
This can be seen in the case study as ethical and legal arise in resuscitation settings, as every situation will have its differences it is essential that the paramedic has knowledge in the areas of health ethics and laws relating to providing health care. The laws can be interpreted differently and direction by state guidelines may be required. Paramedics face ethical decisions that they will be required to interpret themselves and act in a way that they believe is right. Obstacles arise such as families’ wishes for the patients’ outcome, communicating with the key stakeholders is imperative in making informed and good health practice decision. It could be argued that the paramedics in the case study acted in the best interest of the patient as there was no formal directive and they did not have enough information regarding the patients’ wishes in relation to the current situation. More consultation with the key stakeholders may have provided a better approach in reducing the stress and understanding of why the resuscitation was happening. Overall, ethically it could be argued that commencing resuscitation and terminating once appropriate information was available is the right thing to do for the
Mohr, M., & Kettler, D. (1997). Ethical aspects of resuscitation. British Journal of Anaesthesia, 253.
If the life support was able to make up for what had happened to the person, then it would be fine, but it did not. Consequentialism,
The end-of-life nurse’s primary objective is to provide comfort and compassion to patients and their families during an extremely difficult time. They must satisfy all “physical, psychological, social, cultural and spiritual needs” of the patient and their family. (Wu & Volker, 2012) The nurse involves their patient in care planning, as well as educating them about the options available. They must follow the wishes of the patient and their family, as provided in the patient’s advance directive if there is one available. It is i...
If I was in a vegetative state with no hope of re-gaining brain function or living a cognitive life, I would want my family to take me off of life support and I believe these scores reflect that. To live my life, I would want to be as independent as possible; to a certain extent. I would not want to worry about accidents from my bowels or bladder and would like to be somewhat independent in the shower. Although I understand that some type a bathing aide might be necessary. I wouldn’t mind receiving help with grooming, dressing,
Choosing to sustain life artificially or to end life support is a topic that has faced, and still faces today, a lot of controversy. Many believe that life should be prolonged as there can be hope for individuals that are on life support, but other may disagree. The body is a complex system; much like a machine, there are many moving parts, signals being passed, responses being triggered, and when some of our “parts” stop functioning as they should we cease to be. The medical field can use life support systems to keep one’s essential organs running for various reasons such as assisting in the chance of survival or because it was what one’s family wanted. However, controversy arises when the patient being held alive can no longer have a say in the decisions being made and one can only speculate on what his or her wishes may be.