Here is the synopsis of our sample research paper on HEALTH CARE ISSUE: RIGHT TO DIE. Have the paper e-mailed to you 24/7/365.
Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 3-page paper discusses the ethical medical issue concerning the right to die. Bibliography lists 1 source.
Page Count:
3 pages (~225 words per page)
File: AS43_MThcethics.doc
Buy This Term Paper »
Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
ill, they would die. However, as technology improved, so did lives and keeping people alive - whether they could exist without life support or not. Cases that make the news
as did Terri Schiavo in the mid-2000s, bring up the question about keeping those in a vegetative state - who are awake, but are not aware - alive, yet on
artificial support. Without that artificial support, there is no doubt these individuals would not survive for long. Yet because we have the technology to cure, we also have the technology
to keep people alive, perhaps longer than they should be kept alive. In applying the four principles of respect for autonomy, beneficence, non-
maleficence and justice in these cases, we come up with different results, depending in the situation at hand. Terri Schiavo collapsed in her home from a cardiac arrest caused by
a potassium deficiency and, as a result, lost oxygen to her brain, putting her in what doctors defined as a persistent vegetative state. For 15 years, she was sustained by
artificial hydration and nutrition through a feeding tube while her husband, Michael Schiavo, was locked in a legal struggle with Terris parents about whether the treatment should be continued or
stopped (Quill, 2005). The question was centered around what Terri would have wanted - and it was here that Michael Schiavo and Terris parents disagreed.
As to the issue of autonomy in such a situation, were reminded that competent patients have the right to refuse unwanted medical treatment - including artificial hydration and
nutrition (Quill, 2005). But what happens if an advanced directive along these lines isnt indicated? The courts agree that there needs to be clear and convincing evidence that the decision
...