According to Maguire (cited in Gula, 1991), however, physical life is not the greatest or absolute value and death is not the absolute evil. There are other values that transcend physical life, such as personal integrity, human dignity, and the freedom to determine the direction of one's life according to one's convictions. Therefore, the persons in cause have the right to decide for themselves when their life should end. When a person considers that personality is extinguished there is no reason to preserve biological life, since integrity, human dignity and freedom require and suggest the right to make a decision concerning life and death. Such choice proves a relief to relatives...
From this point-of-view, the person should have the right to decide over one's own life and death, but the decision is morally valid if it provides the greatest good for the greatest number. The difficulty of the decision becomes more intense depending on the perceptions of the decision-maker relative to physical life and transcendental values.
Biomedical Ethics: Euthanasia Mercy killing continues to elicit debates on the moral and ethical aspects involved in conducting the act. Mercy killing, which is also called euthanasia, is a practice that medical professionals consider to assist the terminally ill patients (Huxtable 21). Terminal illnesses do not have a cure, or such conditions that have terminal consequence are irreversible. For instance, the case of Paul Mills, who was terminally ill due to
It is important to realize that this perspective is still highly prevalent in many countries, and that even the notion of euthanasia could be hugely offensive to some people, especially in sensitive situations such as end-of-life discussion. While this argument is admittedly built on subjective individual views of morality, it is still a very valid ethical view (Paterson 2003). Other ethicists take a more moderate, middle view of the issue,
Physician-Assisted Suicide, And Active Euthanasia In Favor of the Moral Permissibility of Active Physician-Assisted Suicide According to Mappes and DeGrazia, Brock's support for voluntary active euthanasia is largely based on two ethical values that he regards fundamental (402). The values in this case include the well-being of an individual and individual autonomy or self-determination. Self-determination according to Brock has got to do with letting individuals chart their own destiny, that is, allowing
emotional issues in the field of biomedical ethics is the issue of patient assisted suicide. Proponents on both sides of the issue believe strongly in their arguments and the discussions surrounding the issue often become quite acrimonious. Yet, it is an issue that demands some measure of agreement but remains unresolved and caught in the middle are the patients who are actually suffering from conditions that initiate the discussions
Healthcare -- Doing as Much Good as Possible Many healthcare professionals believe that medicine and ethics are integrated. I agree with this concept. To do good medicine, one must also do good ethics, and to do good ethics, one must also do very good medicine. The two simply cannot be removed from each other. In today's society, the demands of medicine are so great, and the tendency is so real to allow
Life and Death: The Life Support Dilemma by Kenneth E. Schemmer M.D Kenneth Schemmer in his thorough, thought provoking book brings to life the controversial subject of the life support issue. For years, many all over the country have pondered, "What if a person were in some kind of an accident and the physicians told them that they were not going to make it?" And all that he or she
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