Langendoen and Bartels also express the need for goal-driven decision making asserting that, if the goal is strictly patient comfort, then pressers should be discontinued, however, if the patient’s goal is to maintain alertness and the ability to communicate, then many measures may benefit the patient and should be continued (Langendoen and Bartels, 576). It is also important to revisit and reevaluate a patient’s needs on a regular basis as their care progresses.
Some people may argue that because a physician or healthcare provider is deliberately stopping treatment, that the resulting death is therefore just as deliberate and just as morally inexcusable as actively euthanizing a patient. Still, the idea of “letting” someone die “naturally” is considered to be much more permissible by many healthcare professionals. A patient can refuse a treatment and therefore, if the discontinuation of that treatment results in death, it is still for the patient to decide. On the other hand, a patient cannot demand a treatment, and if a patient …show more content…
Each party must understand one another and be absent of coercion. In this way, the decision to withdraw care can be made without doubt or guilt by any party. That’s not to say that the decision will be any easier. Patients and their family members will continue to experience anxiety and may even fall into depression. We cannot forget however, that prolonging treatment will not prevent these disasters, but only delay them.
In choosing to withdraw end of life care, we can provide an environment in which patients can die peacefully and on their own terms. It gives the family the chance to say goodbye and avoid watching as their loved one dies a much slower and more painful death. It provides much needed closure and the chance for life to continue and to be
Some people may argue that because a physician or healthcare provider is deliberately stopping treatment, that the resulting death is therefore just as deliberate and just as morally inexcusable as actively euthanizing a patient. Still, the idea of “letting” someone die “naturally” is considered to be much more permissible by many healthcare professionals. A patient can refuse a treatment and therefore, if the discontinuation of that treatment results in death, it is still for the patient to decide. On the other hand, a patient cannot demand a treatment, and if a patient …show more content…
Each party must understand one another and be absent of coercion. In this way, the decision to withdraw care can be made without doubt or guilt by any party. That’s not to say that the decision will be any easier. Patients and their family members will continue to experience anxiety and may even fall into depression. We cannot forget however, that prolonging treatment will not prevent these disasters, but only delay them.
In choosing to withdraw end of life care, we can provide an environment in which patients can die peacefully and on their own terms. It gives the family the chance to say goodbye and avoid watching as their loved one dies a much slower and more painful death. It provides much needed closure and the chance for life to continue and to be