Ethics of Health Care - Case Study Example

Ethics of health care Ethics of health care According to Donald (2003), death refers to the permanent termination of all of a living organisms body’s biological functions. This could be as a result of various factors like old age, and illness, among others. Certain law provisions, such as in the United States, an individual is legally dead once there is the approval and issuance of a death certificate by a practicing medical practitioner. For such a death certificate to be issued, a person must have lost all possession of brain activity and the capability to resume such brain activity.

As such once brain death and there are no chances of recovery, no civil or criminal liability can arise from the life termination of such a patient. There are various legal consequences that follow a person’s declaration of death including the person’s legal acknowledgement and responsibilities of personhood.The ethical factsLegally, every person holds the right to die and have a dignified death, only as not to choose the terms of their death. This means that in relation to state that they live in certain circumstances permit an individual the right to die.

Considering the womans aged and past the life expectancy period. In addition to this, she is terminally ill with no ambulatory or verbal responses, also termed as brain dead. The law allows for life support systems to be terminated once termed as brain dead for a period long enough to show no expected recovery (Donald, 2003). Other facts such as the ethical decision to connect life support in the first place depicts the right to disconnect it if need be, support this fact. Also, the decision by family members or a court order through patients will disconnect the support system.

The ethical issueThe medical practicing ethical issue here is the termination of the life of an individual that is using life support. Legally the only ethical procedure that doctors follow in such a case is the determination of the brain state of the patient and the responsiveness of the family members. If the patient is brain dead and there is no chance of recovery, the news is provided to the family members and the option of disconnecting the life support system. Such disconnection can only be conducted upon receipt of a court order, request from the responsible family members and a will left behind by the incapacitated patient.

The caring doctors and institution cannot make this decision all by themselves (Donald, 2003).The decisionDisconnection of the life support system would be the decision reached. This could be through considering the woman’s issue from the beginning. She is an aged woman who has had this condition over a long time with multiple chronic admissions and intubations. For the past three months prior to admission she had been non-ambulatory and non-verbal with a decline to each visit. She is getting worse, and there is no expectation of brain function, legally she is allowed the right to die.

The daughter who is the appointed as her attorney and responsible guardian to her signed "a do not resuscitate" order terming that the patient would also want it. Here, it is the patients legal right to death, and since she is legally brain dead and the family members coincide with the right to death order, then disconnection of the support system is justified.The ethical and religious directivesEthically, medical practitioners have the right by law to grant the patient right of death.

The right of death is through non-resuscitation once all else has failed even the use of life support once terminal brain death is evident (Donald, 2003).Religiously the catholic community views life as Gods the precious gift that humans have no right to control.Religiously, the patient should be aided by life support machines and pain medicines until they either recover or die naturally without any aid such as disconnection of life support.Legal ethics supersedes such religious directives.

ReferenceDonald, E. S. (2003). Removing the Mask. The Hastings Center Report, Vol. 33.