...On February 25th, 1990, paramedics arrived at a Florida apartment complex and found a woman by the name of Terri Schiavo laying face down in the hallway of her apartment. Upon arrival, the paramedic's medical analysis showed that Schiavo's breathing had ceased and a pulse could not be found. Several attempts at resuscitation were made on the way to the hospital and upon arrival Schiavo was intubated and hooked up to a mechanical ventilator to assist her with breathing and receiving proper nutrition. The official medical records contained notes with various revelations and remarks from doctors. The information that stood out the most from the files were notes shedding some insight on two severe issues that could very well explain why a young...
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...On February 25, 1990 began the life and death struggle between spouse and family to determine the fate Terri Schiavo’s life. Schiavo suffered from an episode of cardiac arrest which left her unconscious and without oxygen to her brain. Resuscitation efforts were a success but due to the lack of oxygen there was irreversible damage done to her brain. Once placed into the hospital, Schiavo needed an aggressive form of care and was ultimately intubated in order to help her breathe. It was later determined that she was would most likely spend the rest of her life as a vegetable, it was then that the struggle between her spouse and family would ensue. Once it was determined that there was no hope of a full recovery, Schiavo’s husband made it clear that his wife would not want to live on life support and wanted to have her feeding tube removed. “Schaivo’s husband and legal guardian argued that Schiavo would not have wanted prolonged artificial life support without the prospect of recovery, and elected to remove her feeding tube.” Once Michael, Schiavo’s husband, elected to have the feeding tube removed, her family began the process of trying to keep her alive. “Schiavo’s parents argued in favor of continuing...
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...Euthanasia and Ethical Implications Thereof Euthanasia according to the medical dictionary is the act or practice of killing hopelessly sick or injured individuals in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy and/or allowing said person to die by taking less than complete medical measures to prolong life. This type of act is also known as mercy killing or assisted suicide. Individuals who have reached the point when they feel they have no other options have often chosen to look into euthanasia as a way out. Families who see their loved one suffering have approached heath care professionals to act on their behalf and end the pain by euthanizing them. Each instance creates an ethical dilemma for the individual, the health care provider, the family, and other loved ones. Nursing Obligations According to the American Nurses Association (ANA), Nurses are not expected to participate in active euthanasia, as this violates the nurses’ code of ethics. As nurses we have the obligation to provide timely, humane, comprehensive, and compassionate end-of-life care (ANA, 1985). The code for nurses affirms that respect for persons “extends to all who require the services of the nurse for the promotion of health, the prevention of illness, the restoration of health, the alleviation of suffering and provision of supportive care of the dying. The nurse does not act deliberately to terminate life of any person” (ANA, 1985). However, ANA recognizes the patients’ right to self-determination...
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...Ethical Principles Violated In 1990, Terri Schiavo suffered cardiac arrest leading to a persistent vegetative state. Over the next 15 years, her case received international attention as her husband and parents argued over how to fulfill Terri's end-of-life wishes. Although tragic, the plight of Terri Schiavo provides a valuable case study. The conflicts and misunderstandings surrounding her situation offer important lessons in medicine, law, and ethics. Despite media saturation and intense public interest, widespread confusion lingers regarding the diagnosis of persistent vegetative state, the judicial processes involved, and the appropriateness of the ethical framework used by those entrusted with Terri Schiavo's care (Fine, 2005) On March 31, 2005, Terri Schiavo (born December 3, 1963) died -- the final complication of a cardiac arrest on February 25, 1990. Her death was preceded by the withdrawal of artificially administered hydration and nutrition through a feeding tube. Prior to her death, Terri's saga was the focus of intense medical, ethical, and legal debates in the United States and elsewhere. These debates were characterized by confusion about the facts, ethical principles, and laws relevant to the case. Much of the confusion revolved around a number of ethical and legal questions including: Is it ethically and legally permissible to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatments from patients who do not want the treatments? Is withholding or withdrawing...
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...The public expects that healthcare organizations always make the “right” choices in reference to challenging decisions. However there are times where patient’s families make ethical decision making by the healthcare team virtually impossible. Hospital ethical committees and even the legal system in certain situations must oversee such cases. There have been many cases where patients’ lives have been sustained by artificial measures and the issue of right to die has been debated. These individuals are in hospitals and long term facilities where everyone from family to the healthcare providers have an opinion. One particular instance would be the Terri Schiavo case where a young woman’s life had been sustained by artificial means for 15 years. A public battle was waged between her family and her husband and the decision to end her life. The case lingered on and ultimately the US congress had to intervene. As Terri Quill (2005) stated in relation to the case, “how can it be that medicine, ethics, law, and family could work so poorly together in meeting the needs of this woman who was left in a persistent vegetative state?” Cases like Terry Schiavo are not encountered everyday in a healthcare organization but to a lesser extent there are ethical situations that are. Healthcare organizations must also address ethical issues in terms of the financial aspect of healthcare. There has been a significant increase in awareness of healthcare fraud. Some examples would be physicians...
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...Ethical Decision Making in Health Care 2014 Terry Schiavo Documentary Euthanasia is “intentionally causing the death of a person, the motive being to benefit that person and to protect them from further suffering. Many people who contemplate voluntary euthanasia are terminally ill or have been suffering with an illness for an extended time and they just want to end their suffering and pain. ne commit suicide or for not assisting them in the suicide process and allowing them to linger and shall not kill and that we should not interfere with God’s plans. Eastern religions’ stance is not to harm any living things and thus assisted suicide is unacceptable (BBC, 2014). Nurses have an obligation to provide our patients with the best care possible, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Nurses need to meet the needs of their patients and families, this is particularly important with end of life care. Nurses need to make patients comfortable, allow them to voice their concerns, with the moral, spiritual, ethical, and social effects for the rest of their life. Decisions about life and death in the health professions are among the most challenging from an ethical and a practical viewpoint (Purtilo & Doherty, 2011). Nurses play key roles in caring for people at the end of life which include assessing and managing pain, addressing psycho-spiritual needs, articulating values, goals, and beliefs that influence the decisions made at the end of life, for not only the client...
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...Legal Ramifications of the Schiavo Case This article discusses the importance of Advance Directives and the development of the patient self-determination act of 1990 demonstrates the importance that the government places on a person’s right to make their own health care decisions. In the act, congress decided consumers had the right to make their own health care choices or appoint someone who can make that decision for them if they can no longer speak for themselves. It was deemed important enough that CMS (Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services) mandated that all hospitals, home health and hospice agencies, skilled and long term facilities who receive their funds, are mandated to inform patients of their rights under state law to execute advance directives. The article discusses the legal mechanisms for consent or refusal of treatment including: living wills, durable power of attorney for health care and medical directives. The legal ramifications of the Terri Schiavo case was that there was no health care directive executed by her other than a conversation with her husband in which she stated she would not want to have her life prolonged if she was in a persistent vegetative state. Without a health care directive, after three years the decision to remove artificial nutrition and hydration was made by her husband (legal guardian). Terri’s parents and siblings disagreed and thus began a judicial, legal, ethical and media circus. The parents and siblings deemed the removal...
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...individuals try to take a politically correct stand without evaluating the impact it has on the aggrieved party’s life. Euthanasia in itself may seem a simple issue at the first instance, but by probing deep into the issue we are made to ponder a lot about not only its ethical aspects but also the stakes involved in exercising Euthanasia as a fundamental right of an individual. The dilemma in this issue is a lot more complicated if we were to compare it to other conventional ethical dilemmas because both the stands seem morally right, but there’s a legal perspective which opposes one school of thought and supports the other. Is an individual allowed to determine his death if survival is more of a formality? If so what is the basis of qualifying a case to be a suitable contender for euthanasia? Is the judiciary ignoring this since Euthanasia is an issue faced by a minority? SOME FAMOUS VOICES ON EUTHNASIA: 1. Mr. Ravi B Naik, former High Court Judge and Senior Advocate: (deccanherald.com) “When it is not possible for man to give life, who is he to take it away? We should leave death in the hands of God who gave life. There is no law that allows killing by force till a man dies naturally, nor should there be one. In a situation where it is ‘impossible to live’, people die naturally. When they don’t die, doesn’t it mean they can live? It is meaningless to ask them to die without allowing them to live.” 2. Dr Vasantha Muthuswamy, former Deputy Director General, Indian Council of Medical...
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...Final Project 1. Biological and Environmental – Fertility: Three specific procedures that can help to increase the chances of fertility or help families who cannot conceive are, In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), Donor Eggs and Surrogacy. For each of these procedures, the couples should first seek an OB/GYN to assist them in gaging their fertility capabilities. From that point on, the Doctor will then refer them to an Embryologist or Specialist in that particular area or process. It is also good to receive feedback or suggestions from friends or family who have personally gone through the procedure. If couples have difficulty finding a good recommendation, this website provided below will help them to further this process. http://www.ihr.com/infertility/ivf/how-to-select-infertility-ivf-clinic.html 2. Prenatal Development, Birth and Newborns- Institutions: Three specific institutions that I will discuss are, Graham’s Foundation, Little Big Souls and the European Foundation for the care of newborn infants (EFCNI). All three of these organizations help to support parents and physicians of premature babies. There resource websites are as follows: * http://grahamsfoundation.org/ * http://www.littlebigsouls.com/ * http://www.efcni.org/ 3. Infancy- How to Breastfeed: First, they suggest that you learn as much as you can about breast feeding before you even start. They suggest that you talk with other moms you know who have had experience in breast...
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...I have chosen to evaluate the Terri Schiavo ‘right to die’ case. This case dealt with the decision whether or not to remove her life support (feeding tube). In Terri’s situation she was in a persistent vegetative state (PVS). Therefore, Terri could not make the decision to remove her feeding tube for herself. The decision, therefore, was left to her husband who decided it would be best to remove her life support (feeding tube) which was opposed by her parents. Thus, the moral dilemma to evaluate, should human beings have the choice to die (right to die)? Moreover, should others have the right to make the decision for you? In this case, the type of euthanasia in practice is non-voluntary. Her particular case involved a combination of euthanasia types, meaning, nonvoluntary and passive with no extraordinary measures. Nonvoluntary because Terri could not make the decision for herself and passive because the removal of her feeding tube would eventually allow her to die. Lastly, with no extraordinary means, meaning, no additional measures or treatments applied to her condition that has no way of helping her state. Therefore, the burden of her situation outweighs any benefit (Mackinnon & Fiala, 2015). To evaluate this ‘right to die’ issue, we must consider the consequentialist and nonconsequentialist considerations. ‘Rule utilitarianism (RU) is the primary factor since ‘act’ utilitarianism (AU) would not work as a consideration in this case. Given that Terri’s parents were...
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...All of the evidence and things are from Clyde Haberman article “From Private Ordeal To National Fight:The Case Of Terri Schiavo” (2014).Should have Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube been removed.Yes,it should have been.I’m proving that her feeding tube getting removed was better for her and everyone who loved her. I’m against keeping her tube in because according to Clyde Haberman’s article (2014) she couldn’t speak,she couldn’t even eat without a machine doing it for her.I wouldn’t want to live like that and I don’t think anyone would.She most likely didn’t want to live like that for the rest of her life.Her husband has also said that she had actually gestured yes when he asked if she wanted to die.So if that’s true then he was just fulfilling...
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...In the case of Terri Schiavo, questions came up about whether or not it would be ethical to keep somebody alive through a machine if they were in a vegetative state. Being in a vegetative state means that a patient is unaware of their surrounding and one or both of their cerebral hemispheres are damaged to the point where they cannot be fixed. This also means that there is no possible way the patient could be recovered. Also, the person is able to react to basic external stimuli, but not be conscious about it; and in theory, they can’t feel pain. There are two different possible ways to respond to this case of people being in a vegetative state. One way is that the feeding tube should be pulled because this is no way for anyone to live, or even that somebody wouldn’t want to be alive in these conditions. The other way to respond is that they should be kept alive because...
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...Four individual personal interviews were conducted and the results are included below. The Team White Ethics Committee has been tasked with the challenge of comparing similarities and differences between the cases we have studied and making a recommendation on each case based on our interviews and personal beliefs. The first case was Dax (Busada, 2011) and the second case was Terry Schiavo (Springs, 2009). Interview #1 To receive a spiritual leader’s perspective about euthanasia, Pastor Sandy Ash of Harbor Chapel Community Church in Moss Landing, California was interviewed. The interview started by giving Pastor Ash a brief background regarding both the Dax and Terry Schiavo stories. When asked about her view on euthanasia, Pastor Ash stated, “If it’s a person who doesn’t want to live then there’s still hope and they shouldn’t give up since there is no machine keeping them alive. There’s a lot to live for” (Ash, 2013). Pastor Ash also added, “It depends on what stage. If there’s a machine then the person should let them go if they want to go, if that’s their wish” (Ash, 2013). With Terry’s case, she was young and did not have anything on paper stating her wishes should she become incompetent of making medical decisions. When asked about her thoughts on Terry’s case, Pastor Ash reported, “All I knew about was that I thought she was on a ventilator and I think he [Terry’s husband] should be charged with manslaughter or neglect for allowing her to die” (Ash, 2013). Pastor...
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...meeting patient needs and owing a responsibility to the patient. We often examine ethical issues not with a specific approach, but rather with a “hybrid” approach, based on past experiences, our conscience, legal constraints, and social influences and pressures. Often, ethical issues touch on legal issues, or are regulated by laws and regulations. Laws or rules are usually established to set minimum standards for society to employ when dealing with others. The case of a woman battling for her life stirs controversy and becomes mainstream media worldwide. On February 25, 2009, 26 year-old Terry Schiavo was found by her husband, Michael Schiavo, after collapsing in their home (). She was believed to had an eating disorder known as bulimia, which can result in heart failure because of the lack of vitamins such as potassium(). Oxygen deprivation during the time of her collapse was believed to be the cause of brain damage, which doctors believed she was in a persistant vegetative state but not drain dead. However, the case sparks the medias attention eight years later when Terry’s husband Michael petitions to have his wife’s feeding tube removed whereas Terry’s parents contest Michaels petition to end her life (). The ethical concern is the right to die. Euthanasia is a sensitive and debatable topic. From an ethical point of view, Terry’s situation should be handled delicately because of her inability to make her own decisions. The ethical importance begins with the guardian’s, Michael...
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...Health Law and Ethics | The Ethical Case of Terri Schiavo | [Type the document subtitle] | The end of life is to be expected. For many it is understood what an individual’s final wishes are. Living wills provide any issues in question with answers. What if an individual does not have a living will? Who would be in charge in making final decisions for someone who cannot physically make those decisions? The story of Terri Schiavo brings about many questions that represent moral, ethical, and legal issues. On February 25th 1990, Terri Schiavo suffers cardiac arrest, apparently caused by potassium imbalance and leading to brain damage due to lack of oxygen. The cerebral cortex had been completely destroyed and replaced by cerebrospinal fluid. Her upper brain was estimated to be about 80 percent destroyed. However her brainstem, which is responsible for breathing and heartbeat, was still functioning properly. This allowed Schiavo to survive with the assistance of a feeding tube. Terri Schiavo was diagnosed to be in a Persistent Vegetative State (P.V.S). The time frame that Terri Schiavo collapsed she was married to Michael Schiavo. Terri and Michael Schiavo married in 1984 which made Michael the spouse and through the appointment of the court, legal guardian of Terri Schivao. Husband Michael Schiavo believed that his wife would never want to be in a vegetative state. “Michael had been engaged in a court battle with Terri’s parents since 1998, seeking court sanction for...
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