Voluntary Assisted Euthanasia

Voluntary Assisted Euthanasia
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Voluntary Assisted Euthanasia
Introduction
Euthanasia is an endless controversial medical issue in the healthcare industry. Several countries have set laws to govern the euthanasia among medical professionals. However, few countries such as Belgium, Switzerland, and Netherlands have laws that allow physicians to conducted active euthanasia. This paper seeks to discuss euthanasia, obligations of a professional nurse, and laws governing euthanasia.
Description of Euthanasia
Euthanasia is the act of putting someone to death due to prolonged suffering from painful illness or injury. It has been referred to as "mercy killing" by different professionals. It means someone other than the suffering individual (patient) commits an action aimed at ending the life of the patient, for example injecting lethal dose in a patient (Appel, 2010).
The Terry Schiavo Documentary shows how the quality of life for two people has been dramatically affected following traumatic events, as well as the ethical implications. The patient and the family is requesting for assisted euthanasia. The best response that could be given to the family entails the laws governing euthanasia, and obligations of nursing both as a profession and work. These obligations are discussed below.