•••quote:•••Originally posted by TommyGunn04:
• •••quote:•••Originally posted by Tweetie_bird:
•Anyway, we already know about few pateitns who may not want extend their life (DNR, no transfusions etc) and we award them their autonomy and right to refuse treatment. Is there not an implied the patient has to end his/her own life, by refusing treatment? !•••••Tweetie, your argument seems to assume there's no morally relevant difference between killing and letting die. That's an assumption a great deal of people aren't willing to make. How did you deal with this objection in your thesis?•••••Hi Tommy, I think by the time this thread is done, my whole thesis will be on display...
Anyway, I did talk about killing versus letting die and I had to prove it very meticulously that really, there is not much difference (I am afraid if I start writing on it, I would have typed out 20 pages of philosophical ideas)...but let's just say, that to the patient who doesn't care about living any more, HOW his/her life is put to an end is not what's important, it's the fact of death itself that's most important. If (God forbid) you were on a death bed or in unimaginable pain, and wanted to be euthanized would you think it's necessary for you to debate in your own mind about HOW you would die--increasing doses versus lethal dose? Or would you care more about the quickest/fastest way to bring death onto yourself?
Another issue--in MY opinion, killing versus letting die is NOT the same as giving lethal medication versus giving increasing doses. BOTH OF THOSE ARE KILILNG and i think it's time docs realized that. How can a doc keep giving increasing doses of medication knowing that the therapeutic index and lethal index is being reached and then claim that "death was not the intent?" Research has shown that most docs KNOW that this is going to cause the death of the patient.
Letting the patient go home, without any pain relieving medication or life prolonging medication is letting the patient die. Letting a patient suffer in pain, until his/her death is "letting the patient die." Not giving the patient care, comfort and support in THEIR choice in time and manner of death, is letting the patient die. Doing NOTHING, is letting the terminally ill patient die.
Giving a dose of medication (whether increasing or in one lethal dose) is an action that specifically causes the death of the patient, and how the medication was given is not of importance...it's the fact of death that is more important. I could go on and on about this, and I think I need to stop....any more takers?