Daniel Should Not Be Intubated

The ethical principles for nurses to practice with beneficence and no maleficence. This legal battle between Terri Schiavo’s husband and her family was an ethical debate between continuing artificial life or remove her feeding tube by the request of her husband. Using the theories of utilitarianism and deontology can be applied or considered in making the most ethically correct resolution. The cases are very complex and raise many moral and ethical issues. The cases have brought awareness to society of “the importance of discussing end-of-life issues with family members and underscores how an advance directive, a living will and/or durable power of attorney for health care, are a healthcare proxy clarifies and provides evidence of the wishes of an individual regarding end-of-life decisions. Terri Schiavo should impress upon laypersons and professionals alike the uncertainty of the context in which issues of continuation and termination are argued ethically. Nobody knows what Mrs. Schiavo would have wanted. She left no advance directive and in its absence her husband says one thing and her parents

(Pozzuolo, Lassoff, & Valentine, 2005). The decision to grant the family the right to remove the feeding tube was a favorable decision because it left the final decision to the family’s discretion. The court could have refrained from requesting the family to provide clear and convincing evidence for this case. As the legal guardian of the family member, it should be solely left up to the family the precautions that will need to be taken in regards to the incompetent family member. The parents should have been able to make the decision for their daughter without any higher powers getting involved. Because Cruzan was physically incompetent to consent, the next person who would be empowered to consent would be her parents. Cruzan’s parents as next of kin were her Guardian. (Pozgar, G., 2016), According to the law they were invested with the power and charged with the duty of taking care of their daughter first by protecting her rights to die in dignity (p. 406). Family members should be able to make the necessary decisions for their family members directives without the courts getting involve. I am sure the decision Cruzan’s family had to make was not an easy one. The time spent on court battles made an already tragic situation worse. That time should have been spent with family members saying their final goodbyes.

Mr. B, the patient’s brother is Mr. E’s designee to make healthcare decisions in the event that he is unable to do so for himself. He is left to make these decisions without a code of ethics or without medical knowledge. He counts on the medical professionals to assist him. He has an ethical obligation to abide by his brothers wishes and directives. He is influenced by his own beliefs and his perceptions of what his brother would want. If he has the good faith belief that his brother did not understand the need for the ventilator or the outcome of refusing the treatment, then it is not unreasonable or unethical

Samuel Weston is a 75 year old man who after several strokes is now ‘terminally comatose’. He is breathing on his own, however, he is on a feeding tube as well as getting antibiotics through a tube. Doctors say that eventually his heart will stop, but are unsure of when. They also say that Mr. Weston is permanently unconscious with no chance of improvement and he will never function as a human being again. The family is torn on what to do, some want to pull the tubes out, and some think this would be murder. Jonathan Weston, who has power of attorney, has decided to take the case to the hospitals ethics committee where they must decide what to do. These are the decisions I have come up with:

The last resort is to use terminal sedation. Terminal sedation is when a patient is given medications that induce sleep until death occurs. This method is only supposed to be used to provide relief from suffering and not directly induce death. In contrast, the doctrine of double effect says that if doing something ethically good has a morally bad outcome, it's ethically considered appropriate to do it having proof the bad outcome wasn't intended. This also stays true even if one expected the bad outcome to occur. The double effect itself is defined as the administration of sedative drugs with the purpose of specifically relieving pain and suffering in a terminally ill patient. The unintended, but well-known, consequence may be that the drugs could the patient’s premature death. This is a legal way of treatment as long as the intention is only to relieve suffering and not cause death. The death is ultimately attributed to underlying causes of the diseases combined with the removal of survival treatments like feeding tubes and artificial

Why is it relevant to pull the plug on life support or keep it? Theresa Marie Schiavo also known as Terri collapsed due to low potassium levels caused by bulimia (according to her autopsy) at twenty-six years and three months old leaving her in an vegetative state in the year of 1990. In the year 1998, Terrie’s husband Michael Schiavo started a petition to pull his wife's feeding tube. After fifteen long years of fighting and attempts to pull her feeding tube, Theresa Marie Schiavo died peacefully at forty-one years on March 18, 2005. Now ask yourself this; was it ethical to remove Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube?

So even though Terri is in a permanent vegetative state, relying on a feeding tube to keep her alive, taking away that feeding tube and letting her starve is killing her which is unethical in almost every ethical theory. Although this patient has no quality of life and is deemed incompetent, since she has been provided a guardian, we should do all things in our power to keep her alive and well as

The Odyssey and Sirens Song In The Odyssey by Homer and in Siren's Song by Margaret Atwood, the sirens are discussed, but are represented very differently. The sirens are said to be the daughters of the river god, Achelous. They sing enchanting songs that lure men to their island. No one knows what the song is though, for every man who’s ever heard it, cannot stop themselves from going to the island. The Odyssey however portrays them much differently than Sirens Song.

The chief ethical implication is the violation of the patient’s desire to not be intubated and go on the ventilator. The patient has an advanced directive, a legal document, which clearly states that he does not want to be on a ventilator. The patient does not appear to have changed his mind since the document was drawn up, as evidenced by the patient shaking his head and stating “no” when confronted with the physician’s desire to place the patient on the respirator.

Her heart stopped suddenly and by the time she was resuscitated, she suffered irreversible brain damage. She was in a vegetative state which means that she was awake but without conscious and no sign of awareness. She was kept alive by costly medical treatments and care including tubes injected for food and water for years. The doctors said that there was no chance of significant improvement. The question that came up was if Terri wanted to be kept alive in these circumstances and if she would have chosen death instead of suffering this way for years and the years to come. Her husband wanted her to be let go while her parents wanted her to remain alive despite there being no chance of improvement. This is a clear example of the utilitarian theory that shows many parties involved. It is clear that everyone will suffer, but if we put ourselves in Terri’s shoes, she is the one suffering the most. In order to reach the most good out of the situation, it would be best if the doctors remove the feeding tube ending the financial and emotional strain. Though it will be tough for the family, the most good for the family is to know that Terri is no longer suffering. It was unfortunate that this situation happened in the public eye when the courts got involved. The judge did rule to remove her feeding tube, but is there a breaking a point of when the law should play in such a sensitive

In more recent years, physician assisted suicide has not only gained publicity but has become a topic of interest to many individuals. As of 2013, three states have legalized physician assisted suicide via legislation, including Vermont, Washington and Oregon (ProCon). Montana who has legalized this method via a court decision. In the statement made by the Harvard student it states, “What else would any humane person do but assist those who are suffering and terminally ill die if they wish such assistance”. I agree with the statement above, pertaining to legal physician assisted suicide. From a Kantian worldview, all individuals have the right to choose and autonomy. The Center for Disease Control defines autonomy as the right of the patient

He suffered with incredible pain the past few months of his life. If he did not have such an aggressive form of lung cancer that took his life quickly, Daniel’s fate could have been one with unrelenting pain for months or even years. No one should be forced to live through that kind of torment.This topic should be important for everyone because there’s at least one guarantee in life; that we all will face death. But how? That’s one of my main points concerning PAS. We may be faced with terminal illness with long suffering. Shouldn’t we have the right to die with dignity when there’s no longer quality of

There is a great volume of literature on the need for effective leadership skills among tutors in order to promote student learning through quality instruction. As mentioned in the previous chapter, this realization is significant for many reasons. As such, this chapter reinforces the research question through a critical analysis of the existing literature with the aim of coming up with a different line of thought. As such, the study could offer a new dimension of leadership perception that is appropriate in fostering student learning in the modern and changing school setting. Although such characteristics are common across various sectors, the findings of this research put focus specifically on educators with the purpose of improving the quality of education and improved curriculum outcomes. The study could also employ various leadership theories to ensure the achievement of reliable findings.

Advance Directives by the patient designates no feeding tubes, artificial ventilation, or CPR. Concerns regarding alteration of mental status consequential to his illness provoke the physician to seek consultation from the designated Power of Attorney. Nursing responsibilities compel the nurse to consider if the proposed actions of Dr. G violate the patient’s rights of self determination and confidentiality and prompt the nurse to advocate for the patient’s desires regarding medical treatment. Health care providers have a responsibility to honor the patient’s autonomy and provide quality medical care (Badger, 2009 p122). Providing artificial nutrition and ventilation transgresses the patient’s directives and is unethical. The physician appears to be asserting a paternalistic approach in deciding what is best for this patient. Should the interventions be temporary and provide resolution of the condition, the physician can defend his actions as being healing and beneficial. However, there is a chance that the interventions may be permanent and futile; avoiding passive euthanasia and terminal dehydration, serving only to prolonging the illness. Violating the patient’s directives of care by performing invasive procedures can lead to legal incriminations of assault and battery.

In society today, we often have to make decisions. Some of these decisions may mean the life or death of a loved one. The decision of whether or not to administer artificial nutrition and hydration as a form of life support is one decision that some people have to make. I feel that tube feedings, while okay for short term use are fine, but they should not be used as a form of long term care because the risks outweigh the benefits of having a feeding tube.