Ethical issues in end of life decisions how to#
Ethical issues in end of life decisions series#

They might make a decision that is against the will of the patient. When patients can’t talk for themselves, it all comes to healthcare workers and families to choose. In critical situations of end-of-life care, patients are not capable of deciding anything for them. Sometimes the families don’t even involve the patients’ wishes in the final decisions of end-of-life care. Decision-Making source:Ī person has a complete right over his life, except the natural death. It is a direct attack on the patients’ autonomy, which is ethically and morally wrong. They don’t give a second thought about the advance directives of the patients. The families out of fondness don’t want it and elongate the care duration. Sometimes in end-of-life care, patients don’t want to continue their treatments because they have suffered enough. Patients’ Autonomy source:Įveryone has the autonomy to do whatever they want to do for themselves without violations of rules and regulations. Let us discuss some of the ethical issues that are involved in end-of-life care.

Ethical issues in end of life decisions how to#

To understand the ethical dilemmas in-depth, read more about it here so that you know how to deal with it if someone from your family, God forbid, faces this gloom.

If a patient is not capable enough to make his own decisions, it creates a lot of hassle for the health care workers and the family. Due to medical advancement, these problems have increased to a great extent. They have to make decisions that may go against the wills of the patients. Physicians and health workers who dispense their services to end-of-life care patients face a lot of ethical dilemmas. Is too much being done? Is it not enough to be done? Are the facilities up to the mark? What is better? These are some of the questions hovering over everyone involved in end-of-life care. Sometimes, the patients urge to extricate themselves from suffering, but their families want them not to give up and combat it.

Ethical issues in end of life decisions series#

The patients, their families, and the caretakers all go through a series of pain. A lot of ethical issues arise due to these circumstances. The thought of a loved one dying soon in front of your eyes can pull the soul from your body. One can stay alive with machines, but what’s the use if he can’t have a meaningful life afterward?Įnd-of-Life care comes up with lots of excruciating dilemmas. Even after tremendous achievements, medical science can’t guarantee that a dying person can be recovered from his illness, and be lively again without any secondary support. But the recovery of a person is yet to be promised. Medical sciences have climbed the ladder of advancement to such a height where the death can be paused and prolonged. There is no doubt that everyone has come on this planet with an expiry date. Everything brings us joy and sentiments unless a calamity in the form of illness or age hits us. We play around, go to work, spend time with our loved ones, and do whatever we desire.

Making decisions to forgo life-sustaining treatment, forgo food and fluids when near death, or taking many drugs or large doses of drugs to relieve symptoms does not usually lead to death and is not considered suicide (see also Death with Dignity National Center: Voluntary Stopping of Eating and Drinking ).We open our eyes in this vibrant world to let nature show us its traits. Most people find that they have enough control by refusing treatments that might prolong life, including feeding tubes and ventilators. Nevertheless, some people opt for suicide to relieve an intolerable situation or to retain control of when and how they wish to die.

Other members of the care team, such as clergy members, can assure the person and family that they are cherished and help them find meaning. The doctor can increase efforts to control pain, depression, and other troubling symptoms. Discussing suicide with a doctor may help sort out the issues and often correct certain problems that prompted consideration of suicide. Although very few people actually take any steps toward causing their own death, many dying people at least consider suicide-even more so as the public debate about doctor-assisted suicide grows.