Nurses And The Ethical Implications Of Euthanasia On Nursing

Can deliberately killing a patient be justified? For some time, euthanasia has continued to be a topic of debate. Whether this is ethical or not remains a battle in countries all over the world. Many researchers have offered their perspective on the attitudes of nurses and their involvement and ethical implications of euthanasia in regards to the sanctity of life. I chose to discuss the implications euthanasia has on nursing because the nursing profession is rooted on providing care to the sick, implementing preventive measures, and the overall promotion of health. But I feel that euthanasia looses sight on the role of a nurse in providing quality care and maintaining focus on the patients’ needs by having a physician or nurse inject a patient with lethal doses of an analgesic that leads to death. Several researchers have found that nurses in favor of euthanasia justify their actions based on the principles of autonomy and preference utilitarianism. However, other researchers concluded from their studies nurses in opposition to euthanasia feel that autonomy goes against the healing process that the nursing profession is built. Rather, there is a need for better communication to be implemented in the care of these patients requesting euthanasia. This paper will discuss nurses’ attitudes toward euthanasia based on principles of autonomy and preference utilitarianism while also drawing attention to nurses in opposition of euthanasia who express the need for communication in nursing care for patients makes such requests.

Euthanasia is a topic that has not been shy of discussion in the medical profession. McCabe describes euthanasia as a deliberate act in which death is the end result. She further goes on to say that the person admi...

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...te of health. The profession of nursing does not exist if care is not involved. With care follows healing. Nurses are able to recognize signs and symptoms of pain, illness, or suffering and are able to issue the appropriate care to the individual based on the patients needs. Because of this, although a nurse may try to align with the patient’s right to self-determination through the principle of preference utilitarianism, the goal of the nurse is to provide quality care through healing. Thus, euthanasia does not coincide with the ‘nursing-as-healing-praxis’ view. McCabe (2007) again states that euthanasia contradicts the role of the nurse as they drift away from their role and instead focus on granting the wishes of the patient. Nurses need to not focus entirely on the principle of autonomy alone but how to ensure the patient is getting the care he or she deserves.