VoluntaryAssistedEuthanasia
Voluntary/Assisted Euthanasia
Tony Smith
Grand Canyon University
Ethical Decision Making in Health Care
NRS-437V
Lorraine Hover
April 30, 2014
Voluntary/Assisted Euthanasia
Voluntary euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide has been a subject of great controversy the past few decades in the United States. The critical difference between euthanasia and assisted suicide is who administers the life-ending dose of medication. Euthanasia is illegal in the all fifty United States and the District of Columbia. Euthanasia involves the physician or a designated party in administering medical agents. Assisted suicide mandates that the patient self-administer prescribed medications, and in addition choose the time of execution. (Wikipedia)
The “right to die” controversy is on-going and fuels debate in morality, bioethics, legal guardianship, civil rights, and euthanasia. The right to die identifies that an individual with a terminal illness is entitled to pursue euthanasia or assisted suicide. The case of Karen Ann Quinlan in 1977 is hallmark in this debate, a case in which the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled in her parents favor, removing her from mechanical ventilation due to her persistent vegetative state. This landmark judgment set significant precedents involving future cases, and the development and implementation of formal ethics committees. Notably, the state of California in 1977 legalized living wills, providing advance guidelines for institutions to follow in the event a patient is suffering from a terminal condition.
Physician-assisted suicide is legal in four states, Oregon, Washington, Montana, and Vermont. There is specific criteria that must be met to entitle a person to pursue voluntary euthanasia; mental competency, state residency is required, a minimum age of eighteen, six months or less until expected death, and two oral requests at least 15 days apart and one written request. The Department of Human Services-Health Services enforces
Tony Smith
Grand Canyon University
Ethical Decision Making in Health Care
NRS-437V
Lorraine Hover
April 30, 2014
Voluntary/Assisted Euthanasia
Voluntary euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide has been a subject of great controversy the past few decades in the United States. The critical difference between euthanasia and assisted suicide is who administers the life-ending dose of medication. Euthanasia is illegal in the all fifty United States and the District of Columbia. Euthanasia involves the physician or a designated party in administering medical agents. Assisted suicide mandates that the patient self-administer prescribed medications, and in addition choose the time of execution. (Wikipedia)
The “right to die” controversy is on-going and fuels debate in morality, bioethics, legal guardianship, civil rights, and euthanasia. The right to die identifies that an individual with a terminal illness is entitled to pursue euthanasia or assisted suicide. The case of Karen Ann Quinlan in 1977 is hallmark in this debate, a case in which the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled in her parents favor, removing her from mechanical ventilation due to her persistent vegetative state. This landmark judgment set significant precedents involving future cases, and the development and implementation of formal ethics committees. Notably, the state of California in 1977 legalized living wills, providing advance guidelines for institutions to follow in the event a patient is suffering from a terminal condition.
Physician-assisted suicide is legal in four states, Oregon, Washington, Montana, and Vermont. There is specific criteria that must be met to entitle a person to pursue voluntary euthanasia; mental competency, state residency is required, a minimum age of eighteen, six months or less until expected death, and two oral requests at least 15 days apart and one written request. The Department of Human Services-Health Services enforces
References: http://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/fss_papers/706/ http://euthanasia.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=00132 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality of_euthanasia Letter to J. H. Reynolds, 3 May 1818 .