Why Is Hydration Important

I walk into a hospital and I try to assess all of the medical equipment. I come across an IV bag and a feeding tube; I begin to wonder if these items are as important as a breathing machine. I think to myself, well they all keep a person alive, and that answers my question. Today, I will be arguing the claim that withdrawing artificial nutrition and hydration is not morally different from other types of life-sustaining treatments. I will cover what each procedure is, how each procedure is performed, and the risks/benefits of these procedures. With that information, I can assess how each of these treatments relates to other life sustaining treatments such as ventilated life support. The human body needs a sufficient amount of water and nutrition
The best way to protect this to make sure patients are completely informed and that the medical professionals are able to uphold their promise; to take care of and do what is in the best interest of their patient. In many cases taking the most precautions and using the best medical care is what is in the best interest for their patients, but that is only if this is what a patient wants. As long as a patient is mentally competent, it is no one’s place to tell them what they can or cannot do to their bodies. To say intravenous hydration and artificial nutrients are not on the same morality scale as other (more invasive and life altering) medical interventions is wrong. All of these medical interventions are just that, interventions. Any of the interventions previously stated could not be spontaneously replicated by nature and they just as life sustaining as other treatments. From a professional definition, they are different procedures, but from a moral standpoint, they are all the same. This is why I truly believe that if a patient refuses medical interventions, this would morally include artificial hydration and