The case of euthanasia

Ethical Scenario Case Study

The chosen scenario for this paper is the case of euthanasia. Euthanasia is also referred to as mercy killing. This is the practice of intentionally and painlessly killing a human being for humanitarian reasons: to end the great suffering that the person was enduring especially. Euthanasia can be considered active or passive. Active euthanasia is where one directly administers a lethal substance to the patient but with a merciful intention while passive euthanasia is withdrawing or with-holding the life-sustaining treatment from a patient either at the family’s request or from the patient when prolonging life is considered an exercise in futility.

Euthanasia is a hard choice for the family of the patient. It is quite a considerable dilemma. They are caught in between letting their loved one to continue to suffer or to have to let them go. Euthanasia is an option presented to families when trying to prolong the life of their loved one is seen to be futile (Rumann, 2018). Some patients request euthanasia for various reasons: either they are tired of the pain or do not want to see their family members in pain because of them. The issue of euthanasia is a tricky one. Some are for it, but some are totally against it. Some countries do not allow it.

These opinions are influenced by a couple of factors religion being one of it. Christians believe that euthanasia is wrong. The sixth commandment states that they shall not commit murder. Christians consider euthanasia as murder. According to them, God gives life, and only he is allowed to take it. Therefore, practicing euthanasia is considered as committing the crime, and this breaking the commandments and is regarded as a sin. The discussion on euthanasia is an endless one, with each party giving their reasons as to why they are for or against the practice.

In this case study, a family member is involved in a terrible car accident and is in a continuous vegetative state. According to the doctors, there is little hope of him surviving since he cannot eat or breathe by himself. The client is expected to decide on pulling the plug and allowing the family member to pass away (Fu, Wang, Schock, & Stuckert, 2016). This is a tough decision. The client is holding the family member’s life in his hands. There is a lot to be considered before having to decide whether to pull the plug or not.

This issue will affect the client in various ways but mostly emotionally and mentally. This client had a connection with the family member; they connected emotionally and spent time with each other. Therefore, having to decide whether to plug the plug on their loved one or to let the doctors keep trying is undoubtedly going to strain them emotionally. This decision will also strain the client mentally. He has to think through the situation and try to think of what option is better. He has to weigh out all the options presented before deciding whether to plug the plug. The thought of losing a loved one is hard, but having to decide to let them go is even harder.

This decision will also bring constraints socially since the client is Christian. Such a decision will affect how the client will be perceived in the society he lives in. Criticism is expected, especially from the church who highly condemn and frown upon euthanasia.so if the client decides to pull the plug, then he should be ready to receive some harsh criticism from the church and the people around.

First thing in counseling, this client would be establishing a good rapport. Make the client feel at ease since he is already upset by all the things that he expected to handle. Good rapport will ensure that it is free for them to express what they are thinking and feeling, it will also make it easier for me as the counselor to give suggestions and opinions of what I think of the matter. Helping the client to understand all the perspectives of this ethical issue without really deciding for them is critical. This decision needs to be theirs and not one that is influenced.

Next is to help them understand the perspectives related to euthanasia. The first is the religious perspective. As already stated, the church does not support euthanasia. In the bible, euthanasia is not directly addressed, but the guide has discussed the issue of life and death. God is identified as the sole giver of life. He is also the only one who can take away one’s life. This means that no one else is supposed to take away one’s life or to aid in doing so. In God’s eye, each being on earth is precious, and that is why He is against taking away one’s life or killing oneself.

In the commandments given to Moses, the sixth states that one shall not commit murder. This means that no one is allowed to end the life of another or their own. Euthanasia is more or less ending the life of another. In exodus 20:13, the bible states that we should all take precautions to protect our lives and those of others. In as much as the text does not directly condemn the practice of euthanasia, it speaks on the preservation of life. God wanted us to see how precious life is and to keep it.

The bible is seen not condone taking away one’s life even if the person is facing unavoidable death. In 1^st Samuel 31:3, king Saul was wounded in battle, and he decided to ask one of his attendants to help end his life. His attendant, however, refused. This is to show that even in cases where death seems inevitable, the bible still does not advocate for taking away one’s life. Saul was severely injured, but his attendant again did not feel it as his duty to take away the king’s presence.

According to the Bible, suicide is a sin, but then again, God forgives all our sins. God understands all the stress that may lead to taking away life, but the bible still offers comfort to those who are undergoing distress. Concerning the case of euthanasia, this is to say that even though having to watch a loved one in pain or on the verge of death, the bible offers comfort for the family members and those close to them. The text says that there is forgiveness for all. This is to say that even if one acts against what is stated in the bible, then there is forgiveness for them

Euthanasia is considered mercy killing, and this is ending ones suffering. The Scripture, however, teaches that suffering is a way of life, and not all pain must be avoided. Romans 5:3, it says, “rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance.” James also teaches us that we should undergo our trials with joy (Sogorb, Estévez,& Vilanova, 2019). This is to say that suffering is a part of life, and it should be embraced. However, it is not an easy thing to have to watch your loved ones in pain or slowly dying. Another thing considered is the chance that the family member will get better. God works a miracle, and he heals the sick.

Pulling the plug means that they don’t believe in God or His power to work miracles. It seems as if their faith is low or non-existent. It seems as if they have stopped believing in God’s providence. There have been cases where patients recover, and even the doctors cannot explain it and attribute it to God. Therefore, Christian believe that they should wait upon God instead of pulling the plug. The patient might get better or might pass away, but either way, it will be God’s will.

Everyone has their decreed time to live, and that’s why some die young, and others die old. Christian ethicist Gilbert Meilander said, “we should maximize care rather than eliminate the minimizing the suffering,” An Indiana professor Stephen Phillips said that “true care is holding one’s hand and suffering right alongside them. It is not taking away his life or suggesting for them to do so”. Both of these two people are supporting the fact that euthanasia is not the best option. Taking care of a loved one, even when it seems hopeless, is a better option.

For those that are pro-euthanasia, they consider it as a relief. Euthanasia is supposed to ease the suffering of the patient and that of the family. The family not only suffers by watching their loved ones in pain or slowly dying, but they also suffer in other ways like financially. In this case, the family member is on life support, and he cannot eat by himself or breathe on their own. This means that machines are carrying out these two functions. Certainly, the hospital bill will be high, and it will keep rising with each passing day.

The doctors have low hopes of them, and therefore keeping them on the machines and in hospital is seen as an extra burden that the family has to shoulder. And it is even worse on the family if the member ends up passing away; hence pulling the plug is a better option. The biggest suffering to the family is emotional suffering. Watching the loved one suffer hurts, but thinking of pulling the plug on them hurts more. This is, however, an important decision that has to be considered.

The client needs to realize that they are allowed to choose what they want without feeling pressure from other family members. This is a personal decision that they will have to carry for life. It is a hard one since they had a connection with the patient (Bjorgen, Madsen, Bjorknes, Heimsaeter, Havik, Linderud & Slavkovik, 2018). This is a situation that is out of their control and limits their happiness. The client should, first of all, take time to relax and rethink things. He should weigh each decision with a clear mind. He should look at deciding to pull the plug and what it would mean to them. If they had a powerful connection with the family member, he should try to think of life without him or her around. Will he be able to adapt to living without them or not?

He should look at the possibility of the family member’s state improving. Already the doctors have indicated little hope of the patient getting better, but that does not mean that is no hope. If the client feels that there is still hope, then he should opt for not pulling the plug (Ringblom, 2016). He should consider if deciding to let go will be a relief, or it will just weigh him down even more. He should not only think of himself but even the other family members. He should look at the role that the family member played and look at the gap that shall be left behind if he decides to let him go.

Will the family be able to fill the gap and move on? The client should also think of the relief that may come with this decision. The family will not have to look at their family member suffer anymore. Choosing euthanasia will also mean that the family member will be relieved from having to endure suffering. The family member will be let to rest rather than to be struggling to survive to live on machines. Another relief that may come from choosing euthanasia is financial relief. The family will stop increasing their hospital bill that they probably cannot manage to settle.

Another thing that he might need to think of is what does his conscience says to him. What does he feel is the right thing? This decision is hard and needs to be made with a clear mind. Consulting with the family might also help in arriving towards a decision (Kabus & Kana, 2018). This would be especially a good move if he is conflicted about what to do. This decision will affect the whole family, so listening to what they feel and have to say will be a major help in deciding whether to pull the plug or not. The family members are of the suggestion to pull the plug, but this does not have to be his decision.

If he feels like still holding onto hope and keeping the family member alive, then he should be able to express that without any fear. This is the client’s personal decision to make.If he decides to go with euthanasia, then he still another decision, whether to use active or passive euthanasia. In choosing active, then that means that the family member will be given something to ease them to death. As for passive, that means that they will have to withdraw the machines that have been helping the family member to survive. This is another quite challenging decision to make.

The client needs to understand that none of this was going to be easy. Getting to decide if someone lives or dies is as hard as it gets. The client might also decide to let the family member to live and to hold onto the hope of them getting better. But he has to prepared for the chance that the family member ends up not making (Meneses, Concepción & Vilanova, 2016). The client needs to embrace the fact that in life, we lose people, and everyone has their time. This will make it easy for them to come with a decision. Knowing that we shall all die at some point might help him since he will know that either way, we will leave the face of the earth; therefore, if the family member does not pass away now, then he will pass away at some later point in life.

If the decision is too hard for the client, then he can turn down the other family members and let them decide on what should happen. This is a huge decision, and if the client feels like he is not in a position to come up with an answer, then he can pass it back to the family members to decide. However, he must be ready for whatever decision that the family comes up with. Even if he does not like it, he will still have to accept it since he was not able to come to a decision.

While handling the client, it will be important to be easy and considerate. The client is very emotional and probably not able to reason. Explaining to the client the situation at hand and helping them see the issue from all possible perspectives is important since it will aid at helping them analyze everything before they decide on the issue.

Conclusion

This paper has analyzed an ethical issue. It has also looked at how to counsel the client and help them in arriving at a decision. The problem in question is that of euthanasia. This is an issue that has brought a lot of contention since people have different views about it. The main views being religious views. The bible does not advocate for it. But people argue that it is a merciful act to end one’s suffering.

References

Rumann, C. B. (2018). Reflecting on EDAD 840–College Student Development: A Peer Review of Teaching Project Benchmark Portfolio.

Fu, X., Wang, X., Schock, C., & Stuckert, T. (2016). Ecological wisdom as a benchmark in planning and design. Landscape and Urban Planning, 155, 79-90.

Sogorb, M. A., Estévez, J., & Vilanova, E. (2019). Case study: Is bisphenol S safer than bisphenol A in thermal papers?. Archives of toxicology, 93(7), 1835-1852.

Bjorgen, E. P., Madsen, S., Bjerknes, T. S., Heimsaeter, F. V., Havik, R., Linderud, M., … & Slavkovik, M. (2018). Cake, Death, and Trolleys Dilemmas as benchmarks of ethical decision-making. PROCEEDINGS OF THE 2018 AAAI/ACM CONFERENCE ON AI, ETHICS, AND SOCIETY (AIES’18) (pp. 23-29).

Ringblom, J. (2016). Worth weighting for studies on benchmark dose analysis concerning animal ethics in toxicity testing.

Kabus, J., & Kana, R. (2018). ETHICS IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT–CASE STUDY OF BOLESLAWIEC TOWN HALL. ZESZYTY NAUKOWE POLITECHNIKI CZĘSTOCHOWSKIEJ RESEARCH REVIEWS OF CZESTOCHOWA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, 150.

Meneses, M., Concepción, H., & Vilanova, R. (2016). Joint environmental and economical analysis of wastewater treatment plants control strategies: a benchmark scenario analysis: sustainability, 8(4), 360.

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