Did Timothy Behave Appropriately Towards Diana - Essay Example

113331 DID TIMOTHY BEHAVE APPROPRIATELY TOWARDS DIANA? Dr. Timothy Quill behaved very appropriately towards Diane, with empathy, understanding and kindness, as her choice was the best alternative under the circumstances. The decision was not forced on Diane; instead, it was her own decision and without being influenced or persuaded by anybody, she had independently made that decision. Being a self-respecting and highly dignified woman, she could not look forward to the final days of acute suffering and the indignity of being cared for. No doubt, taking one’s own life is immoral, unethical and illegal. But faced by a towering misfortune, it should be the victim’s own decision. The doomed person has a right to decide about her life and body. It is not exactly euthanasia, because she was not particularly helped by any one in the deed. No doubt, there were indirect guiding hands that assisted her through every step towards the unhappy end. With all the amazing advancement in the world of science and medicine, we still have been unable to stop the pain, helplessness and suffering. A large amount of money is being continuously spent by all nations on cancer research; but till now, it had been done in vain, while cancer still remains the most dreaded and horrifying disease of all. The unreasonable striking of the disease, intolerable agony it causes, the hopelessness of an impending death sentence and the ultimate cruelty of an unbearably painful end – cancer had remained the worst killer of modern times, which unfailingly makes the human beings realise the mortality of life. Diane, who had already gone through another form of cancer rather successfully, was not horrified beyond limits. She was angry at her unrelenting fate, sad that she had to decide on her own death; but once she accepted it as her destiny, she neither fought against it, nor wasted her remaining short time, crying over it. Her only demand was that she should be allowed to make her own decision, which she eventually did, with a slight, but not pronounced help from Timothy. Timothy was aware of the outcome of a natural end and he had witnessed the agony of his patients dying of cancer, in sheer helplessness and impotency. After discussing the matter again and again with Diane, whom he admired by the way, in which she fought her various battles, Timothy decided to stand by her. He was convinced that Diane not only has taken the easy way out, but also has chosen the best alternative under the circumstances. She hardly had any great choices. Timothy knew how difficult it is to take one’s own life, without an inherent suicidal tendency. Timothy also has seen the terrible end of four other patients, with the same sickness and he loathed informing that to Diane. But when she decided not to go through it herself, he quietly supported her. Diane had no chances of a miraculous recovery and having seen other patients who had undergone chemotherapy and to what extent of indignity they were reduced to with pain, suffering and immobility, Diane decided not to take the conventional, rather useless treatment. “She remained very clear about her wish not to undergo chemotherapy and to live whatever time she had left outside the hospital”. http://www.academia-research.com/files/instr/113331_noname.pdf Timothy, along with her family, honoured her decision. She decided to spend as much time as possible of her last days with her friends and family and all of them enabled her to do so. Even though it was sad, Diane made the best of the situation. She had accepted her fate enough to joke with her friends during their last meeting. “In our tearful good buy, she promised a reunion in the future at her favourite spot on the edge of Lake Geneva, with dragons swimming in the sunset,” ibid. She did not commit suicide at the spur of the moment, or as an emotional outcome. She lived a contented life for many days, as long as she could prolong it without being threatened much of being bedridden; only when there was absolutely no hope of her being in control of her body and mind, she decided her final step and by doing so, she avoided the last long days of agony and indignity. The days that were left were mere sorrowful days. Diane took only the happy days with her by avoiding facing the sad ones. This does not make her a weak individual who did not want to face the pain. Facing the death, wiping off all hopes of an at least remotely possible recovery is not easy. Perhaps Diane would not have decided on the easy end, if there was even a glimmer of hope, at least a ray of light at the end of the painful tunnel. But there was none and this does not make her a desperado and we know that she was a clear-minded person. “She was an incredibly clear, at times brutally honest, thinker and communicator. As she took control of her life, she developed a strong sense of independence and confidence,” http://www.academia-research.com/files/instr/113331_noname.pdf WHAT IS THE BEST ARGUMENT TO THE CONCLUSION THAT HE DID NOT? We can answer the hypothetical question of arriving at a conclusion that Timothy did not behave appropriately with Diane. Arguments against him are not tough to find. Timothy went against a doctor’s ethics of only saving the life, and not helping to destroy it. By lending a helping hand in Diane’s rather self-indulgent endeavours, he has clearly stepped across his limits as a physician. As an ordinary citizen, he had no rights to help her in any way. He should have informed the authorities that she intended to kill herself. He should also have told the authorities that the death was not due Leukaemia, but was due to the sleeping pills taken by Diane, and he should have demanded an autopsy of the dead body. He failed as a human being, as a friend, as a physician and as a good citizen. He abetted with Diane in her suicide and mildly showed her the way to do it. He knew even the date and time of her suicide; but failed to inform the authorities, who could have restrained her from doing so. His actions cannot be justified, even though the intentions were honourable, and he had nothing to gain from Diane’s death. He did not advise her enough to change her mind. He did not argue with her husband and son to oppose and control her. He did not inform her friends not to support her. He did not even give a hint of it to the authorities; instead he covered up the entire matter in the name of empathy, understanding and sensitivity of friendship. “Yet any mention of suicide would have given rise to a police investigation and probably brought the arrival of an ambulance crew for resuscitation. Diane would have become a “coroner’s case,”….” Ibid. His conduct throughout was unethical and it could neither be expected, nor accepted from a professional doctor. As conclusion involving the ethical side of the story, we could do so more impressively in Timothy’s own words about his favourite patient: “Diane taught me about the range of help I can provide if I know people well and if I allow them to say what they really want. She taught me about life, death, and honesty and about taking charge and facing tragedy squarely when it strikes. She taught me that I can take small risks for people that I really know and care about”. Recently, extensive arguments against and on behalf of the termination of stricken lives had been gaining ground. People are of the opinion that once euthanasia is legally accepted, it would be difficult to curb the designing relatives and unethical money grabbers. At the same time, we should not forget that there are cases like that of Diane that concern all of us, as we too are potential candidates to such an awful end. Timothy’s help is thoughtful and kind even at the risk of his own reputation and profession. Today, people like Diane are many and all of them need Timothys to help them out of misery. Would it have been different if he had given a lethal injection, with her consent? Why? Yes, it would have been very different if he had given a lethal injection to Diane, even with her consent, because he would have been committing a wilful murder. He was obviously crossing the limits of his profession. He could have been helping a patient to commit suicide and abetment to suicide is illegal. He would have laid himself bare in front of the law. He might have been tried against manslaughter. Timothy had no right to take a decision of ‘executing’ a patient. That would have made him vulnerable to the charge of murder and his name would have been stricken off from the Medical Register. Even though he had done it according to Diane’s wishes, she would not have been there to protect him and hence, it would have been his word against the police. There could have been every chance of his getting convicted. His arguments that he was helping a terminally ill patient, according to her own expressed wishes, would have taken him nowhere. This decision was too risky for Timothy, and for Diane, even though it is a quicker death, it is known that victims suffer acutely for a short while. This makes sleeping dose a pleasanter alternative. This would have been an absolutely unethical course for Timothy to have taken. This step would have made him a criminal. ONLINE SOURCE: http://www.academia-research.com/files/instr/113331_noname.pdf Read More