Ethical Issues in Medical Technology

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Advancements in medical technology are made every day. Diseases are being cured, and better treatments are becoming available for the diseases that are not. As a result, people are living longer, and some medical problems that once killed, now do not. Almost anyone would agree that living longer would be great, but for patients’ suffering from dementia, Alzheimer’s, or any other debilitating disease, a longer life is just more time to suffer. Prolonged life has become a topic of ethical debate, and there are many things to be considered when discussing it.
When asked to choose between quality of life and length of life, most people would probably choose quality over length. In an article by Katy Butler she found that, “30 percent of seriously ill people surveyed in a hospital said they would rather die…patients with advanced heart failure said they would trade one day of excellent health for another two years in their current state” (Butler). Once they have lost their ability to take care of themselves, their quality of life suffers. They are no longer able to enjoy life the way they once did. Every person deserves the right to determine whether or not quality of life is more important than length of life, but in some cases they are not.
Part of making that decision is being informed. Often older patients that benefit from these life-extending technologies are not properly informed of the pros, cons, and alternatives (Butler). Most patients would refuse aggressive treatment knowing that their suffering would be drawn out. One of the reasons for this lack of understanding is that some patients are too ill to discuss the decision. This leaves the decision to the loved ones who might not be aware of what the patient would want done....

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...tant to consider the benefits of allowing these technologies to benefit younger people whose lives have just begun.

Works Cited

Butler, Katy. "What Broke My Father’s Heart." The New York Times. The New York Times, 19 June 2010. Web. 2 May 2014.
Lee, Thomas. "Medical technology prolongs lives. But is that a good thing?." MedCity News. MedCity News, 29 June 2010. Web. 2 May 2014.
Mohide, E. Ann, George W. Torrance, David L. Streiner, Dorothy Ann Pringle, and Raymond Gilbert. "Measuring the Well-Being of Family Caregivers Using the Time Trade-Off Technique." . Pergamon Press, 25 Sept. 1987. Web. 2 May 2014.
"Oregon Medical Board, Death with Dignity Safeguards Protect Patients." . Compassion & Choices, 25 June 2010. Web. 2 May 2014.
Winston, Morton Emanuel. "Technology and Ethics in the News." Society, ethics, and technology. Boston, MA: Wadsworth, 2014. . Print.

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