HEALTHCARE ETHICS AND END OF LIFE DECISIONS - Essay Example

Healthcare Ethics Case Study Healthcare Ethics Case Study In the practice of health care provision, individuals face moral challenges that propagate them in to undertaking practices that are ethically in correct. Ideally, euthanasia is the most common ethical dilemma that that many individuals tend to battle with from within themselves. For instance, euthanasia is the merciful take away the life of patients because of their state due to sickness (Pozgar, 2012). According to religious scholars, this practice is unethical, as they hav the belief that no man has the power to deprive any one of their life irrespective of the health suffering that they may be going through.

This causes an ethical challenge because decision is critical in the solving of the problem. In this regard, this essay will tear in to one ethical and moral dilemma case that will help in understanding this view. Further, the essay will focus on vital ethical principles related to the case and the process of making the ethical decision by medical administrators entangled in the case (Pozgar, 2012). In addition, the essay will provide an argument as to whether the handling of the case was appropriate then try to point out ways that would have the situation turn out differently.

Therefore, the chosen case involved a sixteen-month-old baby boy whose father chose to end the life of his son at gunpoint.Key ethical principles As per the case, hospital administrators refused to remove the boy from the respirator citing the right to life principle, as they did not agree to the father ending the life of the boy prematurely. In addition, the case presented the respect for autonomy to which the boy could not make the decision on whether to live or not because of the medical state and age of the boy (Zahedi, Larijani & Bazzaz, 2007).

In this regard, the father decided to pull the plug after seeing that the boy was not getting any better hence going contrary to these two ethical principles. Reasons leading to the decision made by medics Ideally, siding with the request made by the parents of removing their son from the machine was not an option that the healthcare providers were willing to entertain. They stood their ground by maintaining that their hospital could not support their decision citing ethical reasons. Therefore, to them the decision was not a moral obligation rather an ethical move that they had sworn by before joining the practice.

Reflection For one, every individual involved in the case acted out in a manner that they all saw fit hence justifying their deeds. Therefore, the handling of the matter was appropriate because there were injuries despite the presence of a riffle during the scuffle. In addition, the verdict by the judge also proved that the events at the hospital were appropriate hence influencing the delivered judgment. However, the father to the boy should not have used a gun to push the request home, but could have acted with ultimate discretion to avoid a scuffle and attention.

This means that the decision to remove the plug on the boy was a relief to the family because of the accumulation of the hospital bill that did not help the boy to recovering hence distributing the risks. Essentially, this forms the justice principle. Lastly, the father acted autonomously on behalf of the son because the boy was in no state to make the decision on whether to live or die as provided in the autonomy principle of ethics (Zahedi, Larijani & Bazzaz, 2007). ReferencesPozgar, G. D. (2012). Legal aspects of health care administration.

Sudbury, Mass: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Zahedi, F., Larijani, B. Bazzaz, T. J.(2007). End of Life Ethical Issues and Islamic Views- laari. Iranian Journal of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.