Aja Riggs and the Ethics of the Right To Die

One of the major areas of strength of the AMA Code of Ethics is the principle that outlines that the physician must “regard responsibility to the patient as paramount” (American Medical Association, n.d., par. 9). This principle outlines that importance of putting the patient first in all care aspects when working with a patient. Along with this, other principles set forth in the AMA Code of Ethics, while involving other aspects of care, state that the rights of the patient shall be acknowledged and followed during patient care. It is very important that healthcare codes of ethics are clear in defining that the patient needs to be considered first and foremost.

Today, there is a large debate over the situation and consequences of euthanasia. Euthanasia is the act of ending a human’s life by lethal injection or the stoppage of medication, or medical treatment. It has been denied by most of today’s population and is illegal in the fifty states of the United States. Usually, those who undergo this treatment have a disease or an “unbearable” pain somewhere in the body or the mind. Since there are ways, other than ending life, to stop pain caused by illness or depression, euthanasia is immoral, a disgrace to humanity, according to the Hippocratic Oath, and should be illegal throughout the United States.

Ethics is a strongly culturally linked area of philosophy interrelated with what is considered acceptable human conduct. There are two branches of ethics; medical ethics and bioethics. The moral conduct and principles which govern practices of medical and health professionals falls under medical ethics, whereas in biomedicine and the health sciences theorised developments in the study of social and moral issues is considered bioethics(1). There are two philosophical principles within the conduction of health care research these are deontology and utilitarianism. Deontology is an approach to ethics that focuses on the rightness or wrongness of actions themselves, as opposed to the rightness or wrongness of the consequences of those actions (2). Utilitarianism states that the most benefit

In this diverse society we are confronted everyday with so many ethical choices in provision of healthcare for individuals. It becomes very difficult to find a guideline that would include a border perspective which might include individual’s beliefs and preference across the world. Due to these controversies, the four principles in biomedical ethic which includes autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice help us understand and explain which medical practices are ethical and acceptable. These principles are not only used to protect the rights of a patient but also the physician from being violated.

There are four principles of ethics: Respect for autonomy, Beneficence, Non maleficence and Justice. This four principles offers comprehensive thought of the ethical issues in clinical settings (Beauchamp and Childress 2001 cited in UK Clinical ethics Network 2011).

Euthanasia, as defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is considered to be, “the act or practice of killing someone who is very sick or injured in order to prevent any more suffering” (2015).Within this can be found different methods of euthanasia including passive or indirect euthanasia which requires withholding of basic life-saving measures such as oxygen, nutrition, hydration, or resuscitation. Another form is direct euthanasia which can be caused by administered drugs, injections, or suffocation. In its entirety, euthanasia has been debated as an ethical issue through its many forms and reasoning (Methods of euthanasia, 2011).

Voluntary Euthanasia has been considered a controversial topic for many decades. The idea of committing an act that involves the taking of human life is not one that many people would care to discuss openly. The main argument is that a person who has been diagnosed with an incurable illness and is in extreme pain and their ability to move has been limited, while that person still has control over their destiney should they be allowed take their own life (Bowie, R.2001). The worldwide debate weather one should be allowed to end a life is still one of the biggest ethical issues. The attempt to providing the rights of the individual is in conflict with the moral values of society. Voluntary Euthanasia has been highly rejected by many religious and pro-life institutions.

The article “Euthanasia is Not Merciful: There’s Meaning in Life even in the Deepest Pain”, by Mary Ticinovic argues the negativity of euthanizing, and why it should not be legalized. The argument is that agreeing with or legalizing euthanizing will be giving the ok to murder. Mary states, “Favor of suicide goes against the principle that all life is precious”. Some patients whom are suffering for an incurable disease may seek out to be euthanized. Euthanasia currently is illegal in United States, but physician-assisted suicide (PAD) is legal in OR, VT, AND WA. This topic is very controversial.

Firstly, the use of Euthanasia is an unethical method in the ending of one’s life because it is considered murder according to psychiatrist Greg Hamilton, the fifth commandment, and the purpose to all types of Euthanasia: to kill. Referring to the act of euthanasia, psychiatrist Greg Hamilton states, "[...] That's not helping a patient during his dying process[;] that's murdering the patient" (Rudden 255). The right way to treat a dying patient is to aid him or her by giving any type of helpful medication to the patient that may actually save him or her from death. Injecting lethal drugs into an ill patient could possibly make the patient suffer even more and for a longer period of time depending on what type of drug is used. Additionally, "Thou shalt not kill" and "Man should not play God" are oppositions that are based on religious belief (Kastenbaum 532). Breaking this commandment is a grave sin in the Catholic Church. Also, killing a patient no matter what the situation is considered immoral. Christians believe that if one does not repent for a sin as serious as this one, one may not enter the kingdom of Heaven- despite which type of euthanasia is used. Specifically, the other type of Euthanasia, Passive Euthanasia, occurs when an action that may prolong life is withdrawn, such as choosing not to connect a dying person to a life support machine (Kastenbaum 531). 'Pulling the plug' is not considered to be a more gentle way to

All procedures and treatments should be intended to help the patient reach their individual goals; to address this need the we will apply the ethical construct of beneficence. “To ensure beneficence, medical practitioners must develop and maintain a high level of skill and knowledge, make sure that they are trained in the most current and best medical practices, and must consider their patients’

According to Foley the physician should strive to do no harm to their patient and provide the best holistic care

The Hippocratic imperative to physicians, “Bring benefit and do no harm”, expresses the principles of nonmaleficence (“do no harm”) and beneficence (“bring benefit”). According to Beauchamp and Childress, the principle of nonmaleficence considers some moral rules, including: (1) do not kill, (2) do not cause pain or suffering, (3) do not incapacitate, (4) do not cause offense, and (5) do not deprive others of the goods of life

Medical Ethics is a Special kind of ethics which has a set of Moral principles which applies certain values and judgements for Medical practices . It also says that no matter what Race, Gender, Religion a person may be , Should be given Medical care . Medical Ethics has some Principles or Values , that can be followed by the Professionals in cases where there is a bit of confusion, and these Principles are Autonomy, Non-Maleficence, Beneficence and Justice. This was first coined by Thomas Percival. Now let me give a case study to explain in detain these four Principles

A topic that has been controversial for a long time in our country 's history is euthanasia, or mercy killing. As more cases come along, new ideas come up that challenge its morality. Janet Adkins was a 54 years old woman, who had Alzheimer 's disease. At the time, she was still capable of doing things like talking and walking, but she knew things could go downhill fast. She didn 't want to live if she wasn 't able to communicate with others. It wasn 't worth it, because she wanted to be herself until the end, and 'die with dignity '. She contacted Dr. Jack Kevorkian, who agreed to help her end her morbid life. He, in the back of a van, injected her with potassium chloride, helping her die peacefully and painlessly. She was able to end her life how she wanted to (Singer 133). Euthanasia should be permitted because doctors would be relieving the suffering of their patients, the people could 'die with dignity ', and people could live their lives without fear of a painful ending.

There are four basic ethical and bioethical principles that have a strong influence in the practice of medicine, predominantly medicine that deals with those who are dying. The first is beneficence, which directs the physician and health care worker to take positive actions, specifically by restoring health and relieving suffering (Bongard et al., 2008). Then there is nonmaleficence. Goldman and Schafer (2012) add that nonmaleficence is the idea that people should not be harmed or injured knowingly. The third ethical principle is autonomy,