Ethical Reflection on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide

Essay Instructions:

Ethical Reflections in Biology

In this course you have learned about many relevant biology issues from the past and in the present that have ethical implications. While most of us have an idea what ethics is, here is a summary:

Ethics, or moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that involves using critical thinking and rational reflection to understand and evaluate moral principles and systems of moral valuation within cultures, communities, and social groups. Ethical concerns deal with issues of right and wrong or with what is what is beneficial to the we/I-being of individuals as well as society in general.

This assignment asks you to reflect on the ethical aspects of a topic related to biology. You may use the topic you did your research on or any other topic that interests you in the course so far that lends itself to ethical analysis. Your reflection may be from the perspective of the individual, a particular social group or community, or society as a whole. Some questions that come up in such a reflection might focus on:

What are the basic rights and responsibilities as members of society and how do they apply to the situation at hand?
- What counts as right or wrong, and why? Who decides?
- What is the best way for people to behave toward others as well as oneself? What constitutes a life of human flourishing and well-being?

There are no simple answers to these questions because, among other reasons, our concepts of ethics have been derived from a variety of religious, philosophical, or cultural traditions or milieus and may be very different for different individuals. In this assignment, there is no particular right or wrong answer; the idea here is to simply reflect on some aspect of human endeavor within the biological sciences that has moral relevance and could be subject to ethical analysis. Consider in particular the ideas, concepts, principles, and theories we study in this course,

Please watch the following video, "Ethical Reasoning in Action," (14.43 minutes):

Essay Sample Content Preview:

Ethical Reflection
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Ethical Reflection
The topic of interest that lends itself to ethical analysis is euthanasia and assisted suicide. I understand that most patients undergo chronic health conditions that cause them to remain in the ICU for over two years. Also, some patients with health issues such as chronic cancer experience continuous severe pain, despite taking the medications prescribed by the doctor. Although death is not an option, the patient may request that the healthcare practitioners terminate their life. Euthanasia is, therefore, the deliberate act carried out by a person, focusing on ending people's lives to protect them from suffering.
Society has basic rights and responsibilities applicable to the situation at hand. For instance, most people would agree that euthanasia in the hospital is wrong and acceptable because it is similar to murder. Thus, chronically ill people should be left to die independently, understanding that they could improve over time. On the other hand, other people in society agree that if a patient has requested a doctor to terminate their life because of chronic pain, the clinician can carry out euthanasia. In such an instance, the healthcare practitioner must make a sound judgment by first analyzing the patient's condition. Is it a condition that the patient can recover from it? If the patient is experiencing continuous pain, are there medications that can help relieve the patient? Also, is carrying out euthanasia the only decision that the healthcare practitioner needs to make? And,...

Updated on January 26, 2024

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Ethical Reflection on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide

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