Analysis of an Ethical Dilemma (Part1) Voluntary/ Assisted Euthanasia
By Feba Erattakulangara, Jacinda Koski, Nne Uyoh, Olga Gray
Grand Canyon University
Ethical Decision Making in Health Care
NRS 437V

February 24, 2013

Analysis of an Ethical Dilemma (Part1) Voluntary/ Assisted Euthanasia
Amongst the multitude of ethical dilemmas in health care the debate about voluntary or assisted euthanasia presents to be the most controversial. For over two thousand years it has been a banned medical practice. In modern days there are several states in the United States of America which have legalized Physician Assisted Suicide (PAS). These states are: Oregon,
According to this theory, the court ordered to stop the tube feeding (Klugman, C.M 2006). In the case of Dax Cowart, his verbal request for euthanasia was not respected. He was not a part of the decision making process. His mother exhibited paternalism over him, despite the psychiatric evaluations, which proved him to have full decision-making capacity. Now a happily married lawyer, he still believes the doctors were wrong to follow his mother’s wishes, which violated the principle of autonomy (Purtilo, R., and Doherty, R. 2012).
Some argue that euthanasia has a negative effect on society. Those who oppose euthanasia fear that allowing individuals to end their lives will influence others to choose that option also. According to their beliefs, legalizing euthanasia will damage the foundation of society’s value of the human life. The opponents of euthanasia state that the act gives too much power to the physician. It creates a dangerous imbalance in patient physician relationship where the doctor now has the ability to end his patient’s life. In contrast, those who do support it, state that the patient has the right to decide their own death. The Nightingale Pledge lays the foundation for morals and values for the nursing profession. In nursing field euthanasia violates those morals and values. It is a known fact that the nurse patient relationships are built on trust and if euthanasia is practiced, patients