I need help with a discussion post with two questions. It is due by tonight at 8pm. please do not bid if you can’t deliver.
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Chapter
11
Death, Medicine, and Moral
Significance of Family Decision
Making
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• Contemporary medicine has made the dying
process very complex.
• This causes patients and families to make
many difficult choices.
• Families often play important role in end-of-
life decisions.
• Therefore, families need to be considered in
end-of-life decisions.
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Romanizing Death and Demonizing
Families
• The consensus is that end-of-life decisions
should respect patient autonomy and the
right to balance benefit with burden.
• This consensus sometimes conflicts with the
autonomy of the professional.
• The main issue is the ability of the patient to
make this decision.
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Romanizing Death and Demonizing
Families
• There is a need for others to convey the
patient’s preferences when he/she cannot do
so.
• The family is assumed to be in the best
position for this decision.
• However, they may not be disinterested
parties.
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Romanizing Death and Demonizing
Families
• We need to guard our judgments concerning
starting or stopping life-sustaining therapy
when the patient is not able to authorize this
action.
• There may not be a match between what the
patient wants and how the family member’s
understanding matches this want.
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Romanizing Death and Demonizing
Families
• Society has generated laws to empower
patients to make their own decisions about
death and dying.
• These laws attempt to protect their ability to
die in agreement with their beliefs and who
they are as people.
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• Previous claims about the role of families in
the dying process have been overstated.
• Few people have taken advantage of advanced
directives.
• The medical practice may be confused about
the patient’s definition of a good death.
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Dying in Intimacy
• Many people think of their families as
advanced directives.
• However, many people are not able to express
their preferences for action in a future crisis.
• Advanced directives do not consider the
nuances of a romantic death.
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Dying in Intimacy
• The ill are not excused from their obligation to
family because of their illness.
• Selfishness is not the only approach to illness.
• Policies should be made to recognize the role
of the family in making proxy decisions.
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Dying in Intimacy
• Hospitals have their own agenda when it
comes to the dying patient.
• Patients need to be empowered in a setting
which has the power to control their
autonomy.
• Patients must be able to have contact with
their sources of protection and personal
affirmation.
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• When people trust their families, they should
be allowed to have them make proxy
decisions.
• When they do not, non-family proxies could
be appointed.
• Specific treatment directives could also be
available.
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Solutions
• Most people will die without advanced
directives in place.
• There could be a system of proxies in
descending order beginning with the spouse.
• While not perfect, this system could make a
good start toward addressing the problem.
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We Die Differently Now…
Romanizing Death and Demonizing Families
Romanizing Death and Demonizing Families
Romanizing Death and Demonizing Families
Dying in Intimacy
Dying in Intimacy
Dying in Intimacy
Dying in Intimacy
Solutions
Solutions
In Summary…
