Christy O Donnell Case Study In Ethics

To further exemplify the principles of either one of the aforementioned theories, it is essential to apply them to situations that could be fairly argued from either perspective. In the case of Christy O’Donnell, the moral question posed is whether or not it is moral for physicians to euthanize terminally ill patients who wish to end their life on their own terms. O’Donnell, a mother and lawyer, was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer after the discovery of a tumor approximately the size of a golf ball in her brain on June 25, 2015. The doctor had warned O’Donnell and her daughter, Bailey Donorovich, that the cancer had metastasized from her left lung to her brain and that because of the severity of her condition she only had a few months …show more content…
O’Donnell would have to continue this agonizing procedure during the last few months that she was granted to live only to have her life ended, regardless of the extensive treatment. O’Donnell disclosed that if the current laws enabled her to choose how her life would end, it would be planned to be at home in bed with her daughter holding her hand. Realistically, it is probable that Donorovich could come home to find her mother already deceased without a timely warning.
The ethical issues imposed in this case involve the autonomy of O’Donnell, and her right to self-determination. While she was aware of her condition, she was not granted the permission by the law to choose how to end her own life, despite the fact that it was inevitably …show more content…
Additionally, Terri was not in any detectable pain, so one could not argue that her pain was being decreased by the removal of her feeding tube. In addition to the aforementioned oppositions through a utilitarian perspective, the ultimate result would be the death of a human being, which would not be viewed as an ethical end result. Moreover, a utilitarian believes that all human actions are goal oriented, and if the goal is unethical such as a human being losing their life to the opposition of the majority, then they would deem the entire act to be morally incorrect. Contrastingly, a deontological approach would support the removal of her feeding tube since it would honor the individual’s wishes. Additionally, one could argue that it is the duty of her husband and doctor to choose to end her life because it was not only her wish, but a reasonable approach to the situation due to the fact that realistically there was nothing else that could be done in order to salvage any form of her cognitive functioning. In addition, since deontology states that the end result is not a definitive factor whilst forming ethical decisions, one may also argue that the act of removing her feeding tube was ethical because it would honor the individual 's wishes, despite the fact that the end result is the death of a human