Write a 3 page paper that examines the moral and ethical issues involved in making a decision regarding limiting life support.

Grading Rubric Must Be Followed; Please see instructions carefully about when writing the assignment

Instructions

In a 3 page analysis of the case study, address the following:

• The patient's directives.
• The patient's quality of life.
• The family's stated preferences.
• The moral issues associated with limiting life support.
• The ethical principles most relevant to reaching an ethically sound decision.
• Important considerations such as implications, justifications, and any conflicts of interest that might arise because of the patient's respiratory failure.

When writing your assessment submission assume that doctors cannot contact Mrs. Martinez and must make this choice on their own. To help you reach an objective, ethically sound decision, draw upon concepts and arguments from the suggested resources or your independent research. Support your response with clear, concise, and correct examples, weaving and citing the readings and media throughout your answer.

RESOURCES:

End-of-Life Issues

• Frontline: The Suicide Plan | Transcript.
  • This video explores the clandestine world of assisted suicide. Physician-assisted suicide is legal in two U.S. states—Oregon and Washington—but only for individuals facing a terminal illness. Elsewhere, individuals contemplating suicide turn to friends, family members, and activist right-to-die organizations. When people choose to kill themselves, those who help them (assisters) face a range of legal consequences, so they are advised to hide evidence and tell few people about their intentions. This documentary offers a balanced, informative viewpoint about an issue few want to contemplate.
  • Running time: 01:25:38.

Think about the following questions:

• What are your thoughts about those individuals who were arrested for helping a parent or friend die? Though they broke the law, do you believe they did anything morally wrong?
• Did the film change your mind, in either direction, about laws that forbid physician-assisted suicide?
• What do you think of Dr. Timothy Quill's claim in the video that there is no moral difference between a doctor removing life-sustaining treatment upon a patient's request (which is legal) and a doctor hastening the death of a terminally ill patient who asks for such help (which is illegal in most U.S. states)? Do you agree or disagree?
• Should those who have a treatable illness but do not choose to go through treatment and linger be permitted to receive assistance to kill themselves?

Additional End-of-Life Issues

• Emanuel, L. L, Barry, M. J., Stoeckle, J. D., Ettelson, L. M., & Emanuel, E. J. (1991). Advance directives for medical care: A case for greater use. The New England Journal of Medicine, 324(13), 889–895.
  • This seminal work examines the case for expanding the use of advanced medical directives by using hypothetical scenarios.
• Gedge, E., Giacomini, M., & Cook, D. (2007). Withholding and withdrawing life support in critical care settings: Ethical issues concerning consent. Journal of Medical Ethics, 33(4), 215.
  • More recent seminal work regarding the ethical guidelines and issues with regards to life support technology.
• Munson, R. (2014). Intervention and reflection: Basic issues in bioethics (concise ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth. Available from the bookstore.
  • Chapter 7, "Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide," pages 300–334.