Passive Suicide
In the health care profession one will have the opportunity to work with patients from many different walks of life. Patients who are children, middle aged, elderly, religious, female, male, and from many different cultures or ethnic backgrounds. Within these many different patients are their own unique and opinionated standards that have been molded throughout their lifetime based upon their experiences. These standards are formulated within a purpose aimed toward existing in a quality of life they believe is worth living for. Unfortunately, some of these patients may come to a standpoint in their disease or disability that simply goes against what they believe is a life of value. These patients have the lawful right to …show more content…
Many physicians may struggle with this oath when coming to terms with a patient who requests to discontinue a life prolonging treatment. This type of request is purposefully allowing the patient to bring harm or death upon themselves, and consequently goes against the basic morals a physician is taught they should possesses. The individualistic position on suicide is based on the principle that every person’s life belongs to themselves. Thus insinuating that one has the right to take their own life, which is defined in society as committing suicide (Baillie et al., 2012). Even though an individual may be free to commit suicide, society definitely doesn’t want to encourage it or allow others to help, especially since that help can easily turn into a homicide. On the other hand, there are periods when an individual doesn’t actively take their own life, they only decide to no longer work towards sustaining it. Therefore implicating that suicide isn’t as black and white as one may have previously assumed. A patient may humbly decide to let nature takes its course and allow themselves to die from their disease; this can be more simply defined as passive suicide. As previously mentioned all patients have the right to actively refuse or request medical treatment. Many health care professionals question whether or not it is ethical for the patient to refuse treatment and wish to challenge that right when the patient’s refusal leads to death (Baillie et al., 2012). Those who object the patient’s decision argue that such refusal is suicide and therefore unethical because all suicide is unethical (Baillie et al., 2012). What is anticipated is the elimination of suffering, and in this sense the patient has
In the health care profession one will have the opportunity to work with patients from many different walks of life. Patients who are children, middle aged, elderly, religious, female, male, and from many different cultures or ethnic backgrounds. Within these many different patients are their own unique and opinionated standards that have been molded throughout their lifetime based upon their experiences. These standards are formulated within a purpose aimed toward existing in a quality of life they believe is worth living for. Unfortunately, some of these patients may come to a standpoint in their disease or disability that simply goes against what they believe is a life of value. These patients have the lawful right to …show more content…
Many physicians may struggle with this oath when coming to terms with a patient who requests to discontinue a life prolonging treatment. This type of request is purposefully allowing the patient to bring harm or death upon themselves, and consequently goes against the basic morals a physician is taught they should possesses. The individualistic position on suicide is based on the principle that every person’s life belongs to themselves. Thus insinuating that one has the right to take their own life, which is defined in society as committing suicide (Baillie et al., 2012). Even though an individual may be free to commit suicide, society definitely doesn’t want to encourage it or allow others to help, especially since that help can easily turn into a homicide. On the other hand, there are periods when an individual doesn’t actively take their own life, they only decide to no longer work towards sustaining it. Therefore implicating that suicide isn’t as black and white as one may have previously assumed. A patient may humbly decide to let nature takes its course and allow themselves to die from their disease; this can be more simply defined as passive suicide. As previously mentioned all patients have the right to actively refuse or request medical treatment. Many health care professionals question whether or not it is ethical for the patient to refuse treatment and wish to challenge that right when the patient’s refusal leads to death (Baillie et al., 2012). Those who object the patient’s decision argue that such refusal is suicide and therefore unethical because all suicide is unethical (Baillie et al., 2012). What is anticipated is the elimination of suffering, and in this sense the patient has