Verified Document

Ethical Issue Of Assisted Suicide Research Paper

Ethical Issue of Assisted Suicide The American Society of Registered Nurses [ASRN] ( 2010) defines "physician-assisted suicide" as the facility to a patient by a medical health professional of the means of ending his or her own life. Assisted suicide is an issue of great importance to nurses. This issue echoes their values and beliefs as a commonality. In the same time it calls for a clear and precise response as a profession, and challenges individual nurses to think about their own moral views (Daly et al., 1997). The history of the debate and the compelling moral arguments regarding issues such as patient autonomy, quality of life, acting in the patient's best interest or the right to death attest to the complexity of the issue and also suggest that it will not soon be resolved.

There is much controversy with regard to nurses and the role they play in the assisted suicide discussion. "A nurse may be involved in assisted suicide by providing or administering the means of death in his or her capacity as a health care professional, by assisting a physician in doing so, or by tacitly approving the actions of another health care professional by failing to stop or report a physician-assisted suicide of which he or she is aware" (ASRN, 2010, p.1). As a consequence, nurses are often involved in assisted suicide and thus need to be prepared to deal with the series of concepts that come along with performing such an act.

The American Nurses Association's [ANA] Code of Ethics for Nurses regulation for assisted suicide condemned this act as unethical and inappropriate for nursing care (King & Jordan-Welch, 2003). ANA's strong position is that nurses have the obligation to relieve sufferance but to cause no harm. However, ANA did make a clarification regarding patient's refusal of treatment which is extremely burdensome for the patient, as being ethically and legally permissible (ANA, 2001).

Despite the increased attention that this issue had received during the last 20 years, there is little written by nurses...

According to King and Jordan-Welch (2003) several research studies emphasized the divided opinions that exist among nurses regarding ANA's position. For example in a study by Leiser et al. (1998) cited by King and Jordan-Welsh (2003) conducted a survey on 215 nurses where over 50% of them agreed that assisted suicide was appropriate for relieving suffering. Moreover, Asch (1996) cited by King and Jordan-Welch (2003) reported a 19% of nurses who responded that they had either participated or performed assisted suicide. According to Asch the nurses attributed their actions to frustration with medical technologies practices that maintain life without concern for the wish or the amount of suffering endured by patients.
The fact that there is limited information to provide individuals with a more specific understanding on the topic is certainly confusing. To a certain degree, it is probable that the general feeling that nurses are not necessarily actively involved in treating a patient influenced many to ignore the role that these people play in actually helping patients.

The legal issues of this debate are also complicated, especially by the fact that several states have enacted, or been asked to enact legislation that would make assisted suicide legal. Currently, Oregon, Washinton and Montana are the only states that approve laws allowing physician-assisted suicide ( King & Jordan-Welch, 2003).

Furthermore if one puts this issue under scrutiny of a right-based ethical reasoning model it can be argued that each individual has to right to decide what is best for himself, has the right to claim autonomy on decisions regarding his life. In accordance to this view Lachman (2010) stated that patients see a good death as right that nurses, in their obligation to relieve sufferance should upheld. However, "in order to honour a patient's autonomy, nurses must be sure that a patient's choices are informed (i.e., that the patient understands the consequences of his…

Sources used in this document:
References

American Nurses Association. Code of Ethics for Nurses. Washington, DC: American Nurses Publishing; 2001.

American Nurses Association. (1994). Ethics and human rights position statement: assisted suicide. Silver Spring. http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/HealthcareandPolicyIssues/ANAPositionStatements/EthicsandHumanRights.aspx.

American Society of Registered Nurses (2010). Dilemma for Nurses: Physician-Assisted Suicide. Journal of Advanced Practice Nursing

http://www.asrn.org/journal-advanced-practice-nursing/768-dilemma-for-nurses-physician-assisted-suicide.html
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Assisted Suicide Is a Suicide Committed by
Words: 2065 Length: 6 Document Type: Essay

Assisted suicide is a suicide committed by someone with assistance from someone other than themselves, many times a Physician. Assisted suicide is typically delivered by lethal injection. The drugs are setup and provided to the patient and the patient has the choice as to when they deliver them by pressing a button themselves. This is a controversial topic that has both proponents and opponents for various the reasons. The most

Ethical Issues of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia
Words: 6393 Length: 16 Document Type: Term Paper

Ethical Issues of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia The ethical issues relating to assisted suicide and euthanasia have captured the attention of the public. The topic of Euthanasia is a contentious one and it inescapably incites strong emotional argument and gives rise to tough beliefs that do not straight away lend themselves to consensual harmony. It is improbable that a decision can be reached which will meet with universal support whenever such

Assisted Suicide When We Think of Assisted
Words: 1305 Length: 5 Document Type: Term Paper

Assisted Suicide When we think of assisted suicide, most of us immediately think of Dr. Jack Kevorkian, the retired pathologist who was sentenced to two terms of imprisonment in 1999 for helping a man suffering from a terminal disease to die (Humphrey 2002). Assisted suicide is a very passionate issue of debate in this country. There are numerous ethical and moral considerations aside from the legal aspects of the practice. The

Assisted Suicide Should Be Legalized. There Is
Words: 1074 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

Assisted suicide should be legalized. There is no rational argument against it, only cartoonish arguments based on superstition and feigned morality. In the real world, we all must die, and there is no case, either moral or intellectual, that one can make to argue that we should not have the right to control our final moments. Over the course of this essay, I will illustrate in no uncertain terms that

Ethical Issues Are Now Just As Much
Words: 4469 Length: 13 Document Type: Essay

Ethical issues are now just as much of a concern as they were thirty years or more ago. (Qian, Gao, Yao & Rodriguez) Ethics are a clear set of principles dealing with what is considered appropriate behavior in-group and individual counseling. These standards were created not only to protect clients, but also to protect counselors. As a counselor, a fine line can easily be crossed if the counselor and/or the

Ethical Dilemma of Assisted Suicide
Words: 3126 Length: 10 Document Type: Research Paper

Ethical Dilemma of Assisted Suicide "In the care of patients with terminal illness, arguably the singular purpose should be safe, effective treatment and relief of pain and suffering," yet it is within this context that a heated debate about assisted suicide exists (Goslin 2006 p 2). Overall, the public seems to support the individual's right to choose. This has been deeply ingrained within American culture in the presence of staunch individualism.

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now