5. Death and Dying Flashcards
is the entire state of the living thing
Life
may be considered as an element of human
autonomy through which a person experiences a sense of self.
Life
it encompasses the value of the self
Life
is a determining factor in a person’s “preconscious” standard of judgment.
Life
The imaging professional should consider the following aspects of life when making determinations in ethical dilemmas:
- Life is the foundation of all other values of a patient.
- Life is the foundation of a patient’s rights.
- The preservation and maintenance of a good quality of life are the goals of the patient entering the health care environment.
- A patient is motivated to enter the health care environment when capabilities and potentialities are radically affected. If a patient can regain these capabilities and potentialities, quality of life is greatly improved.
- A patient, except in the most extreme circumstances, has no rational desire greater than the desire for life. Nevertheless, in extreme circumstances a desire for death may not be irrational.
is the ideal underpinning the obligation not to take human life
Sanctity of human life
Respect for the _________ entails an obligation not to infringe on an individual’s decisions regarding life and an obligation not to take
human life.
Sanctity of human life
is the act of knowingly ending one’s life
Suicide
The individual
must also have the intention to die
Suicide
ARGUMENTS AGAINST SUICIDE
- Many religions forbid suicide.
- Life is the greatest good.
- Suicide causes harm to the community.
- Suicide causes harm to friends and family.
Some find suicide unacceptable for _______ reasons —God has lent life to the individual, and therefore that life is not the individual’s to end
religious
______ to the community is another argument
against suicide
Harm
is the refusal of treatment by a person who knows that refusal will lead to death
Passive suicide
is the taking of one’s own life through a conscious act
Active suicide
REASONS FOR THE IMAGING PROFESSIONAL’S DUTY NOT TO COOPERATE WITH SUICIDE
- Assisting in or supplying the means to suicide is generally illegal.
- Health care providers are devoted to healing.
- Assisting in suicide is incompatible with professional obligation.
is deliberately ending the life of another to end suffering
Euthanasia
is the ending of another person’s life by withdrawing treatment
Passive euthanasia
is the ending of another person’s life by an aggressive method to end suffering
Active euthanasia
is present when one act leads to another and then to another at an accelerating rate
Slippery slope
is the ability to grow and continue the life process.
Development
is the expulsion or removal of a usually nonviable fetus
Abortion
a fetus that cannot live outside the uterus at that time
nonviable fetus
is the act of painlessly putting to death a person suffering from an incurable and painful disease or condition
Euthanasia
The difference between the passive and active euthanasia lies in
the _____, not the _____
methods,
consequences
may be committed through the withholding of nourishment or through a decision not to perform cardiopulmonary
resuscitation (CPR) on a patient who has stopped breathing
Passive euthanasia
It is considered legal in
certain instances because no one delivers a method of death. “Nothing” is done and that “nothing” leads to death
Passive euthanasia
is the performance of a specific act on the
request or behalf of the patient to end life
Active euthanasia
The legal ramifications of euthanasia, especially active euthanasia, are tied to the act of
murder
Five stages of coming to terms with death (Kubler-Ross Theory):
- Denial
- Anger
- Bargaining
- Depression
- Acceptance
is a person who substitutes for another, often in decision-making processes.
Surrogate
who act on behalf of patients and may make decisions and grant consent for them in quality-of-life judgments
Surrogate
are increasingly important elements in decisions regarding euthanasia
Advance directives and surrogates
A written explanation of the patient’s
wishes in the form of a ________ hastens the processes leading to
passive euthanasia.
living will or advance directive
The idea of lethal injections evokes perceptions of “______” and “______”
doctors of death,
angels of mercy
________ is still generally illegal, however, and many roadblocks stand in the way of its becoming an accepted procedure.
Active euthanasia
encompasses essential traits that make life worth living
Quality of life
Factors influencing quality of life may include:
Biologic functions, Intellect, Creativity, Emotions, Contact with others
is one way to ensure that people’s wishes regarding
treatment in relation to their quality of life are honored
Living will
identify specific
treatments to be initiated or discontinued when patients become terminally ill, are in great pain, or fi nd themselves in a life-threatening situation.
Living wills
If a living will is not present and the patient’s wishes are unknown, quality-of-life decisions are difficult to make.
In such situations, the _____ requirements for quality of life must be recognized.
minimal
The principles of ______ and _____ and ______ are critical issues in a discussion of quality of life.
beneficence,
nonmaleficence,
respect for autonomy
Problem solving can be aided by the use of the following points (with modifications for imaging) from \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
Jonsen, Siegler, and Winslade
Many hospitals have formed ________ to help health care professionals address the ethical problems surrounding termination of treatment and related issues.
Ethics Committees
First, they educate the hospital, its employees, and its other constituencies.
Second, they develop policies regarding problem areas, especially
the problems of death and dying.
Third, they act as advisory consultants to health care
providers and families.
Ethics Committees