The Nurse's Role In Euthanasia

Analysis of an Ethical Dilemma: Euthanasia
Allison Marine
Hanna Easter-Baker
Phuong Tran
Tiffany Jones
Grand Canyon University
Author Note
A CLC Yellow Group Assignment for Week # 4 for The Course “Ethical Decision Making in Health Care”
The Nurse’s Role in Euthanasia
A nurse’s primary responsibility is providing patient care in a responsible, safe, and ethical manner. In a scenario such as voluntary euthanasia, the nurse’s involvement consists of supporting the patient, their family members, and the other health care staff once the life-terminating act begins (De Bal, Gastmans, & Verpoort, 2006). Sometimes, the best thing the nurse can do in a situation such as this is to simply be present, offer support, and keep in mind the ethical principles
With voluntary euthanasia, many people are affected by the decision that is made beyond just the patient. These people can also include the family and friends of the patient , and even the health care professionals that were involved. However, with the particular scenario in “Confronting Death: Who Chooses? Who Controls? A Dialogue between Dax Cowart and Robert Burt”, the primary stakeholder would be Dax Cowart. The article did not discuss or even mention his family, or of any other people who were involved, or were directly affected by his decision. His initial choice was voluntary euthanasia, but after long discussions, and enduring painful treatments for over a year he finally decided to move forward. Cowart even said that it took him almost seven years to feel somewhat normal again, and regain his life back (Burt, 1998).
Influence of Stakeholders. All of the ethical and Legal questions that is arising out euthanasia for adults may be categorized by the interests of the various stakeholders: the patients, physicians, hospitals, families, and the whole of society. These stakeholders have both conflicting and complementary interests and the shifting of these interests through time has shaped the history of thinking about the decisions involved with regards to euthanasia. (Carton R.,
Three states including Oregon, Vermont, and Washington have legalized VE by legislation and Montana legalized it by court ruling (ProCon.org, 2014). On the other hand, 46 states and Washington DC consider VE illegal (ProCon.org, 2014). They have passed state laws that specifically prohibit VE. In the states that prohibit euthanasia, any health care provider practicing it will be punished and charged with murder (Smith, 2002). It is a felony akin to manslaughter in most states, and the federal government has outlawed the use of federal funding in euthanasia cases (Smith,