Chapter 10: Care of the Dying |
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| Section 3. Presentation of Issues. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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VIDEOS: VIEW: On Death of Humans Perspectives on Death: Crash Course Philosophy #17 Ending life and Ethics Woman fights for right to diehttp://www.blinkx.com/watch-video/woman-fights-for-right-to-die/DVQ9Xj90bkjR141cVsHnzAEnd-of-Life Care: Weighing Ethics and Rationing Resourceshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiTp1w48P3ELSE Professor Questions Moral Basis for Euthanasiahttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DHiSrRF0Ys VIEW: Assisted Death and the Value of Life: Crash Course Philosophy #45 Euthanasia Although the question currently remains
unanswered, there have been attempts to clarify, categorically, the
different types of euthanasia. Active and passive are terms that hope to
bring some quantification to the quandary. The difference between the two
are relatively simple; active signifies the act of killing (lethal
injection, deadly gas inhalation, etc) and passive applies when one has been
allowed to die without direct intervention to assist one’s death
(withholding medication needed to sustain life). The active/passive
distinction, however, is not been embraced by everyone. Critics claim this
distinction is not enough to provide a guideline to the ethics of such an
action. Many have complained that both version, regardless of the
involvement of death strategies, are in effect causing death and therefore
immoral. Additionally, the autonomy of the patient is not addressed in
either the passive or the active argument, which brings up another
categorical perspective attempting to clarify the morality of the issue.
With the assistance of combinations of the proposed categories, the styles of euthanasia can be defined as follows: 1. Self administered But how effective are these distinctions in defining euthanasia and do they differentiate when such a death is moral? Unfortunately, they have not clearly defined the boundaries of such ethical dilemmas. The morality of assisted death remains in the eye of the individual. Nevertheless, maybe the categorical approach only confuses the reality of one’s motive to act in the best interest of another. If indeed, active nonvoluntary euthanasia is immoral, what implications does that really embody? If a person is fatally ill, inevitably facing a future of extremely pain that will, in all probability, linger for an extended period, months or years, does one then have the inherent reasoning to provide an act of mercy for the benefit of he or she who suffers? When a child comes across a bumblebee, dying in the cold of autumn, and shows compassion for the suffering insect by swiftly crushing it under foot, was that an act of mercy or just the willful murder of a weaker, helpless creature? If we can agree that the bug’s death was motivated by mercy and compassion in an attempt to end prolonged suffering, why wouldn’t a human being deserve that same mercy and compassion? The fact remains that a bumblebee and a human being are truly very different creatures with no reasonable comparison in inherent value; but then again is the morality of an action embodied in its motive rather than in it’s outcome? Since the outcome determines the continuation or extinguishing of human life, the matter is of dire concern. No quick, off-the-cuff decisions will do. The one main difference between the bug and the human is the ability to communicate an autonomous decision either way. Since a person is considered reasonable because of his or her ability to communicate his or her desires, level of pain/suffering, feelings of surrender, etc, then that ability could be the deciding factor when one opts to be euthanized regardless of passive or active status of the action. The problem then becomes the person’s clarity of reasoning. Does pain, and/or depression, symptoms that commonly accompany fatal illness or injury, interfere with one’s ability to make an autonomous decision? If so, who then who is deputized to make such decisions concerning future existence for the person who suffers? A new problem may then arise; a patient may find themselves at the mercy of an unauthorized guardian, making decisions by proxy. Herein lies the next aspect of consideration, advanced directives. Cases like Terry Schiavo, Nancy Cruzan and Karen Quinlan all emphasize the need for advanced directives. While clear-minded and healthy, one could decide what kind of treatment would be desirable and at what stage of injury or illness, at what condition of existence that treatment would preferably be denied. Although there is no guarantee that physicians and family members would follow such directives, it would leave no doubt as to one’s will should a catastrophe occur. Unfortunately, even when physician’s are willing to respect the predestined instructions of a patient, in many cases where the patient is unable to communicate, the physicians will ignore the directives pre-ordained by the patient and follow the instruction of his or her family. The simple truth of the matter is, “Families never sue because of the overtreatment of a patient, but they do sue because of withholding or discontinuing treatment.” (Munson Intervention and Reflection– 194) ************************************************************************* DEFINING DEATH What criteria should be used to make a determination that a human being is dead? It is not always so easy to make the determination correctly. Mistakes have been made and recorded as such going back centuries with people being buried alive. Today the mistakes become realized when the non-so-dead body with a death certificate completed is about to be either: autopsied, prepared for burial, or prepared for organ donation. Here is just one recent case: ‘Dead’ pastor shocks docs with ‘miracle’ movement just before organs are harvested By Andrew Court September 5, 2022 4:37pm Here are possible options for criteria to use to pronounce some human being to be dead:
The Problem of Death : When is a person dead?
A definition of Irreversible Coma was presented in (JAMA Aug. 1968 ) and the committee of the Harvard Medical School that set it set the medical standard for complete and irreversible loss of all brain activity. There should be no doctor of medicine that does not know the four criteria set out by that report. Since the appearance of that report the criteria set out by the Harvard Committee has set the standard in the USA and over 100 countries in the world. According to the Uniform Determination of Death Act of 1981 (model legislation endorsed by both the American Medical Association and the American Bar Association, meant to guide state laws on the question of death), you are dead if you have sustained “either irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions” or “irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem” — in other words, no heartbeat and no breathing, which is obvious enough, or no brain function, which requires an electroencephalogram. That type of irreversible cessation is termed irreversible coma. Irreversible coma = medical diagnosis and prognosis Irreversible coma = complete and irreversible loss of all brain activity In diagnosing irreversible coma there are two conditions that need to be excluded first because a person with either of them may appear to have no heart, lung or brain functions and yet that person may have them restored. The two are central nervous system depressants in the body and hypothermia-very low body temperature. According to the Uniform Determination of Death Act of 1981 (model legislation endorsed by both the American Medical Association and the American Bar Association, meant to guide state laws on the question of death), you are dead if you have sustained “either irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions” or “irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem” — in other words, no heartbeat and no breathing, which is obvious enough, or no brain function, which requires an electroencephalogram. In 49 states the legal authority set out laws that recognize a "medical standard " to determine an irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain. Irreversible coma is the "medical standard " to determine an irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain. There are over four different definitions of "brain death" in the world of medicine. "Brain death " is a highly ambiguous phrase. Doctors can be very, very loose with that phrase. It ranges in their use from partial brain destruction to whole brain loss of activity. There have been many cases of people declared "brain dead" who recovered consciousness. There are no cases of anyone declared to be in an irreversible coma having recovered any brain activity at all. Far better to inquire and investigate to insure that irreversible coma has occurred and then in 49 states that person is legally dead. In NY the person in irreversible coma may be declared dead but does not need to be. In NY people are being trained to check for irreversible coma and then say a person is brain dead. Here are guidelines in New York In the NY document :
So the accepted medical standard is in the second clause that of the criteria for IRREVERSIBLE COMA, which is actually not a coma at all but conveying the appearance of continuing unconsciousness due to artificial support systems. CASE: Hypothermia Here is and example of the latter case: Defining death. Hypothermia A Mount Rainier hiker was 'essentially dead' for 45 minutes -- until a team of Seattle doctors revived his heart This case indicates one of the latest methods for raising bpdy temperature without harming brain functioning. It was reported by Marika Gerken, CNN Updated 1:36 PM ET, Sat November 21, 2020 CASE: Reluctance of public to accept the law California’s Health and Safety Code 7180 states that an individual who has sustained “irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem, is dead.” Although the law is clear the public does not understand the standard as well. Some believe due to religious or personal beliefs that a person with some organ functioning is still alive. Some hope and pray for a miraculous restoration of functioning despite there being no brain activity at all. See the case of Jahi McMathWhen Jahi McMath was declared brain-dead by the hospital, her family disagreed. Read more here https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/02/05/what-does-it-mean-to-die CASE: Reviving Brain ActivityThe matter of when a person is really and finally dead gets even more complicated when there is research such as this A blurry question: When does life end? reported by Michael Dobie concerning the temporary revival of pig brains in a lab creates scientific and ethical issues. Advanced Directives: These include
The Right of Self Determination: 1. Children- guardians make decisions and may not refuse imperative (life saving) procedures 2. Adults A. Incompetent - court appointed guardian makes decisions and may not refuse imperative 9life saving) procedures B. Competent- may refuse any and all treatments: Exceptions: prisoners and those with dependents may not refuse imperative treatments C. Formerly Competent and now incapacitated READ: My Father Didn’t Want to Live if He Had Dementia. But Then He Had It. Oct. 23, 2023 By Sandeep JauharREAD: When Patients Choose to End Their Lives By Jane E. Brody NY TIMES April 5, 2021 OPTIONS for making decisions at the end of life:
In New York State there is now New York’s Family Health Care Decisions Act (FHCDA) Family Heath Care Decisions Act Information CenterThe FHCDA Information Center is a project of the NYSBA Health Law Section. It is designed as a resource for all persons – including health care professionals, health care attorneys, advocacy groups, policymakers and members of the public – who are seeking information about the FHCDA.
New York's Family Health Care Decisions Act explained by David Goldfarb of Goldfarb Abrandt Salzman & Kutzin LLPNew York’s Family Health Care Decisions Act: The Legal and Political Background, Key Provisions and Emerging Issues By Robert N. Swidler2"
A form is available here for >>>New York Living Will | Document Directing Health CareDownload a pdf form here>>> FORM Here is a link to the form for the NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (MOLST) here>> https://www.health.ny.gov/professionals/patients/patient_rights/molst/ Avoid putting others in the position of making decisions for you when you cannot do it for yourself. Fill out an advance directive: 3 types Fill out all three
FIND THEM ALL HERE>>> FORMS Another example of a LIVING WILL: https://eforms.com/living-will/new-york-living-will-document-directing-health-care/?utm_content=Power+of+Attorney+General&gclid=CjwKCAjw6qqDBhB-EiwACBs6x-FtISNmZ-lGDip9X0xU7DXaBPKvW6uQTxBJtVEhiL3ijUjwOA53rxoCjC0QAvD_BwE Health Care Proxy Form -for each statehttps://formswift.com/health-care-proxy?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=180942738&utm_device=c&u_producttype=formswift&utm_term=&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjww_iwBhApEiwAuG6ccDB_KrWDb3UCYUD6SEoVv7voz9rKtyjx847UGD9bdGjGd7k4wyf7YBoCHR4QAvD_BwEThis next form (MOLST) must be filled out related to an actual medical facility and medical staff and recognized in NEW YORK STATE. Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (MOLST) INSTRUCTIONS: MOLST is the Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment and the POLST is the Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment. They're both the same thing, but in different states they call them by different names. https://www.health.ny.gov/professionals/patients/patient_rights/molst/ FORM: MOLST(DOH-5003), Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (MOLST), ========================================================== ETHICAL THEORIES Natural Law: No direct termination of a life. Indirect is allowed. Pain relief even unto respiratory failure is permitted. No moral obligation to treat the hopeless cases. Allowing to die is permitted allowing nature or God's Will to take their courses. UTILITARIAN: Action or inaction that leads to death is correct when it alleviates suffering and promotes the general welfare and better feelings (utility). Kant: Rational agents have the duty to preserve their lives if possible. No deliberate suicide. When agent is no longer capable of rational thought then there is no longer a duty to preserve that life. Allowing to die is thus permitted and compatible with Kant's principle even if not required as a perfect duty. Ross: Duty to fulfill promise and a duty to act in a person's best interests. Rawls: Maximize Liberty and allow for self determination. Minimizing the disadvantages allows for terminating treatments and hastening the death of the hopelessly ill and suffering. ********************************** The classification scheme is somewhat artificial, but it gives us a way to conceptualize various morally relevant aspects of euthanasia. For example, was the euthanasia voluntary, involuntary, or nonvoluntary? Was it self- or other-administered? Was it active or passive? To be sure, there are likely to be some cases of euthanasia which are hard to classify. There may also be classifications for which there are no cases. For instance, at the close of class an astute student suggested that perhaps there is no such thing as active self-administered nonvoluntary euthanasia. Here is a worksheet of sorts. The first table draws distinctions between the different kinds of Euthanasia. It is useful to write in examples of each kind of Euthanasia in the table. For instance, a common example of Active Involuntary Other-Administered Euthanasia is murder.
Let's now consider the implications of some of our theories for each of the kinds of Euthanasia. For example, it should be clear that the second formulation of the Categorical Imperative implies that Active Involuntary Other-Administered Euthanasia is morally wrong.
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Proceed to the next section of the chapter by clicking here> next section. © Copyright Philip A. Pecorino 2002. All Rights reserved. Web Surfer's Caveat: These are class notes, intended to comment on readings and amplify class discussion. They should be read as such. They are not intended for publication or general distribution. |
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