Transcript Physician assisted suicide, euthanasia

Physician assisted suicide,
euthanasia,
“law of double effect’,
Palliative Sedation,
Withholding or Withdrawing
Medical Interventions
PHYSICIAN ASSISTED SUICIDE
In assisted suicide, the patient swallows a lethal
dose of drugs or activates a device to
administer the drugs.
Physicians assist by:
1. Providing the means for the suicide
2. Provide information on it or referring the
patients to where they might get
information.
e.g. Hemlock society
Assisted suicide is not ethical but legal in 5 US
states. They are:
• Washington
• Vermont
• Oregon
• Montana
• New mexico
EUTHANASIA
Here, the physician administers a lethal dose of
medication, such as Potassium Chloride.
The physician both supplies the means of death
and is the human agent in the events leading
to the patient’s death.
It is sometimes called Mercy Killing.
It is neither Ethical nor legal.
“LAW OF DOUBLE EFFECTS”
A terminally ill patient may require high doses of
opioids or steroids for severe pain relief.
In rare cases, the dose required to relieve suffering
may also hasten death.
There is a difference between administering a lethal
injection and giving pain medications that might
inadvertently shorten a patient’s life.
• The issue is one of intent i.e. to relieve pain and
suffering.
• It is both Ethical and legal
Withholding or Withdrawing
Medical treatment
Ethically and legally, when a competent patient
makes an informed decision to refuse life
sustaining therapy, this request is upheld.
Patients have a right to be free of unwanted
medical interventions.
Under such circumstances, the underlying
illness, not the physician’s action is considered
the cause of death.
Palliative Sedation
This refers to the practice of sedating a
terminally ill patient to the point of
unconsciousness, due to intractable pain and
suffering that has been refractory to pain
medications.
Such patients are dying; they are hours or days
away from death.
This is considered Ethical and legal
Note:
On the exams, you can’t perform Euthanasia,
Assisted suicide and The law of Double Effects
Case Study
• Debbie case
• Brittany Maynard case
• Dr Jack Kerviokian