I think one of the cruelest things we do is let patients lay in nursing home beds without the legal ability to terminate their own lives. I'd be interest in what other nurses think of this.
If you ask active people who are in their 40s and alert and you say to them "when you get older and you lose the capacity to know your surroundings and you no longer recognize your family members, and if you reach a point where someone has to change your brief in a bed or feed you your meals, would you prefer to live your life like that or would you prefer someone terminate your life painlessly and peacefully?"
What do you think most people's response would be???
Mine would be termination of my life! But guess what that is against the law in most states.
I'd be interested in knowing what other nurses think about this. We get trained over and over again about abuse. Well to me, the biggest abuse we commit is we do not allow Voluntary Euthanasia over laying in a soiled brief in a nursing home bed where we can't even feed ourselves anymore. Voluntary Euthanasia is illegal in all states and PAD is allowed only in Washington, Oregon, Montana, and Vermont.
Except that there is a huge moral difference between withdrawing extraordinary measures with the intent of letting nature take its course, and taking an affirmative action with the intent to kill.
Except that there is a huge moral difference between withdrawing extraordinary measures with the intent of letting nature take its course, and taking an affirmative action with the intent to kill.
Then let the person who's life is at stake make the decision! Morals aren't universal and there are things worse than death. If a person is terminal, and make the decision to die with their dignity and mind intact, then they should be allowed that right. And just do you know, there are people who view withdrawing care as murder also.
I have to call BS on the rationale that it's morally wrong for us take actions that cause a patient death since we do that all the time. Depending on the estimate you look at, we kill between 200,000 and 400,000 patients a year as a direct result of our actions, patients who did not want to die. I don't get the logic that this is acceptable, but doing the same thing to patients who actually want to die isn't acceptable. Why is it morally better to kill someone who doesn't want to die rather than someone who does?
Muno, you're saying that 200,000-400,000 people in this country die as the result of affirmative actions by healthcare workers with intent to kill? Not withdrawing extraordinary measures, directly killing? What do you have to back that up?
I see the point you're trying to make. But why shouldn't a person be allowed to make that decision for themselves? If someone has a terminal diagnosis, why shouldn't they be allowed to sign papers, in advance, that state that if they are unable to communicate and life support is withdrawn, that their death should be facilitated with medication?
I see the point you're trying to make. But why shouldn't a person be allowed to make that decision for themselves? If someone has a terminal diagnosis, why shouldn't they be allowed to sign papers, in advance, that state that if they are unable to communicate and life support is withdrawn, that their death should be facilitated with medication?
But that's not what euthanasia is, that is withdrawing of care and comfort care. Euthanasia usually happens way before the point where the person is unable to express themselves. Hence the controversy. Some people have an unreasonable fear of death, which seems silly to me since the one thing guaranteed in life is death. Why shouldn't it be peaceful and on the pt's terms?
I see the point you're trying to make. But why shouldn't a person be allowed to make that decision for themselves? If someone has a terminal diagnosis, why shouldn't they be allowed to sign papers, in advance, that state that if they are unable to communicate and life support is withdrawn, that their death should be facilitated with medication?
Euthanasia comes from the Greek language and means „good death“. NO one but me... should have any thing to say about MY idea of a of a good death.
Muno, you're saying that 200,000-400,000 people in this country die as the result of affirmative actions by healthcare workers with intent to kill? Not withdrawing extraordinary measures, directly killing? What do you have to back that up?
Errors are not intentional killing. Euthanasia is. Withdrawing aggressive care and letting nature take its inevitable course while providing comfort is not intentional killing. Euthanasia is intentional killing.
duskyjewel
1,335 Posts
Except that there is a huge moral difference between withdrawing extraordinary measures with the intent of letting nature take its course, and taking an affirmative action with the intent to kill.