Hunger Strike Speech

1928 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: 4 principles of medical ethics

Hunger Strike Whenever, the government takes some steps which oppose a particular section of the society, that society tries to retaliate. They have a number of ways of doing it. Hunger strike is considered to be most dangerous and a very effective solution of them all. Hence, hunger strikes are a means of political protest, done when the aim is to pressurize the government so as to change some policy, or to take that person's viewpoint into account.
In a hunger strike, when a person refuses to eat, he refuses nourishment. Without nourishment any person can survive for a limited period of time. Therefore, going on a hunger strike is inherently dangerous and hence it is used when other forms of protests are ineffective. Hunger strike in a …show more content…

Force-feeding is definitely a form of torture. It has been characterised as an inhuman and cruel activity by major international communities including the World Medical Association . Force feeding is a medical treatment, and when it is administered to a person who refuses it, for a purpose which he considers is more important than nourishment, it is a disregard of his dignity as person to make choices, disregard of his higher aim for which he had initiated his hunger strike. When a prisoner is arrested, he is not stripped off his rights as a living being. Though he is in the custody of state he still has the right as to what goes inside his body. Feeding him forcibly simply means neglecting a person's desire to control his body that too when he is completely able to form just and sound …show more content…

If they voluntarily opt out of the practise, though they are protected by conventions and international laws, this act of theirs would be looked upon as a professional misconduct. Medical ethics give paramount importance to the autonomy of a conscious and sound patient.
The 7th section of The Declaration of Tokyo says that if a prisoner, capable to make and unimpaired and rational judgement, refuses nourishment, then medical personnel should restrict themselves from force feeding the person.
World Medical Association(WMA) is an association of medical personnel worldwide, which has vast number of member countries including India. The WMA Declaration of Malta has provided the guidelines for management of hunger strikers. Its 7th section mentions that force feeding of any kind is unethical. Even when aimed for the good of the person, it is accompanied by many other threats.
Every person has a set of higher laws which he abides by in his daily life. Most of the doctors when are made to force feed, are put in such a situation where there is a conflict between their higher laws and their loyalty to their profession. They are put under a dilemma. But due to their personal commitments, they finally chose to force feed rather than losing their

Show More
Related

  • How Did Cesar Chavez Impact Society

    1399 Words  | 3 Pages

    Cesar admired heroes like Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr for their nonviolent methods. He followed Gandhi and Dr. King’s practice of nonviolence for the protest against grapes. Some young male strikers started talking about acts of violence. They wanted to fight back at the owners who have treated them poorly. They wanted to fight back to show that they were tough and manly. Some of the strikers viewed nonviolence as very inactive and even cowardly. However, Cesar did not believe in violence at all. He believed nonviolence showed more manliness than violence and that it supports you if you’re doing it for the right reason. He thought nonviolence made you to be creative and that it lets you keep the offensive, which is important in any contest. Following his role model Ghandi, “Chavez would go on hunger strikes” (Cesar Chavez 2). This showed that he would starve for his cause and that he was very motivated. It also showed that he was a very peaceful and nonviolent protester. Chavez was fasting to rededicate the movement to nonviolence. He fasted for 25 days, drinking only water and eating no food. This act was an act of penitence for those who wanted violence and also a way of taking responsibility as leader of his movement. This fast split up the UFW staff. Some of the people could not understand why Cesar was doing the fast. Others worried for his health and safety. However the farmworkers

    Read More

  • Ethical Dilemmas In The Case Of Marguerite M And The Angioram?

    1051 Words  | 3 Pages

    Healthcare creates unique dilemmas that must consider the common good of every patient. Medical professionals, on a frequent basis, face situations that require complicated, and at times, difficult decision-making. The medical matters they decide on are often sensitive and critical in regards to patient needs and care. In the Case of Marguerite M and the Angiogram, the medical team in both cases were faced with the critical question of which patient gets the necessary medical care when resources are limited. In like manner, when one patient receives the appropriate care at the expense of another, medical professionals face the possibility of liability and litigation. These medical circumstances place a burden on the healthcare professionals to think and act in the best interest of the patient while still considering the ethical and legal issues they may confront as a result of their choices and actions. Medical ethics and law are always evolving as rapid advances in all areas of healthcare take place.

    Read More

  • The Role Of Nonviolent Action In Congressman Lewis's March Book 1)

    1064 Words  | 3 Pages

    They were willing to break unjust laws to achieve a just law. In John Lewis’ March book One, we see examples of Lewis’s days when he, himself, took part in sit-ins at dinners to be served meals. At the counters of diners, they were rejected by waitress to be served meals. In the book, we witness the brutality and beatings young protesters at counters received as well as in the movie “The Butler”. Both scenes show the consequences protesters faced once in white people’s territory. The goal of the sit-ins was to fight for equality in dining areas and restaurants. With all the violence faced during sit-ins in both book one and two, the protesters continuous pressure to integrate diners and restaurants proved to be effective because a bill was later signed to desegregate diners because of race. In today’s generation, a sit-in would not be effective because this generation’s youth does not have the will and mentality to withstand abuse from whites without fighting back. Violence answers to violence as we have seen recent violence demonstrated by young black protesters in other

    Read More

  • Decisions from Health Care Providers

    579 Words  | 2 Pages

    Patients are ultimately responsible for their own health and wellbeing and should be held responsible for the consequences of their decisions and actions. All people have the right to refuse treatment even where refusal may result in harm to themselves or in their own death and providers are legally bound to respect their decision. If patients cannot decide for themselves, but have previously decided to refuse treatment while still competent, their decision is legally binding. Where a patient's views are not known, the doctor has a responsibility to make a decision, but should consult other healthcare professionals and people close to the patient.

    Read More

  • Guantanamo Bay Case Study

    740 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nasal feeding is enforced to inmates on hunger strike that refuses to eat. Nasal feeding is a long process that can take up to two hours and is painful and unsanitary. According to Guantána...

    Read More

  • Resistance In Fredericks, Stephanie Camp, And Frederick Douglass

    1201 Words  | 3 Pages

    Students at the University of Missouri, specifically the Concerned Student 1950 activist group, began a resistance movement to remove the university’s president, Tim Wolfe. The university saw a rise in the number of racist incidents, but the president did not take any action. Some of the racist incidents include “a swastika, drawn in excrement” and the “screaming of racial insults, including the ‘N-word” at the head of the Missouri Students Association (“Missouri”). The students began protesting by standing in front of the president’s car at a parade, but when that didn’t garner a response they began to resist in more extreme methods. Jonathan Butler, a graduate student at the University of Missouri, went on a hunger strike, refusing to eat until the president, who took little action against the racist incidents, chose to resign. Hunger strikes, much like abortions, are a form of resistance that can be categorized by inward violence. After a week without food, Tim Wolfe resigned and Butler was able to end his hunger strike (Lowery). The students at Missouri were able to use resistance successfully to create a change in their university’s leadership. Not only did they succeed in changing the leadership, but they gained the attention of the entire nation. Their actions are causing citizens all around the country to think about existing

    Read More

  • Hunger: An Unnatural History by Sharman Apt Russell

    916 Words  | 2 Pages

    Even though fasting is a controversial topic that has the whole world at odds with one another, Hunger: An Unnatural History by Sharman Apt Russell is informative and inspiring in that of the significance it has on the human race as well as the professional book reviews that help give insight into the problem of hunger. Everyday people in third world countries starve to death based on the fact that their countries simply don’t have enough resources or that their leaders only take office for their own personal gain instead of trying to actually help their country. So people rebel everyday by going on hunger strikes to fulfill a life’s goal whether it be to take a stand against the leader of their country like Mahatma Gandhi or to help raise awareness to a situation, both of which do not involve war. Hunger strikes are an effective way of not having to use violence.

    Read More

  • Professional, Ethical and Legal issues in nursing

    2256 Words  | 5 Pages

    In this essay the author will rationalize the relevance of professional, ethical and legal regulations in the practice of nursing. The author will discuss and analyze the chosen scenario and critically review the action taken in the expense of the patient and the care workers. In addition, the author will also evaluates the strength and limitations of the scenario in a broader issue with reasonable judgement supported by theories and principles of ethical and legal standards.

    Read More

  • Agricultural Diversification Argumentative Essay

    1707 Words  | 4 Pages

    Imagine your skin tightening around your body to the point that you see your veins, no fats or muscles, the foul odor that comes from your mouth, your eye sockets sunken in, your eyes bulging out, the visibility of your collar and chest bones, your stomach bloated, and your body eating itself. These are the symptoms of someone who is starving. The dictionary definition of someone who is starving or hungry is someone who displays the need for food, the need for calories in their body. This is a feeling that millions of people feel every day because there is not enough food being farmed for them to eat, food is too expensive for them to buy, and because they do not have the knowledge nor ability to grow and maintain their own food. This all can be fixed with one simple solution and that solution would be agricultural

    Read More

  • Civil Dissobedience and Taking a Stand

    647 Words  | 2 Pages

    Civil disobedience, is often the last step that people take to bring attention to a topic or subject that they feel strongly about. Every day is full of unjust rulings that may not be to everyone’s liking. Many people fight for what they believe in even if the outcome is bleak. You are your own self and you will always have your opinion that may not match all other citizen’s. Civil disobedience has escalated to a majority of non- violent protesting, although there are some cases including violence. It is a form of rebelling against what they feel is unfair or unconstitutional. Showing civil disobedience is an act that you must be willing to accept the legal consequences, which may include incarceration.

    Read More

  • Essay On Walkout

    922 Words  | 2 Pages

    Walkout; what is a Walkout? According to the website Dictionary.com, it defines the term walkout as “the act of leaving or being absent from a meeting, especially as an expression of protest”. Some people may say it is an act of retaliation, and others may say it is standing up for what you believe in. A walkout it is not only an act of leaving, it is a form of expression. People who are involved in a walkout bring attention or raise awareness for a certain issue that is taking place. That’s what happened in 1968. A group of East Los Angeles students walked out, in order to have their goals met by the L.A.U.S.D School District, which was, a better education for the Latino community.

    Read More

  • Essay On Ethical And Ethical Issues In Nursing

    733 Words  | 2 Pages

    Another huge ethical topic is the patient’s right to choose autonomy in the refusal of life-saving medicine or treatment. This issue affects a nurse’s standards of care and code of ethics. “The nurse owes the patient a duty of care and must act in accordance with this duty at all times, by respecting and supporting the patient’s right to accept or decline treatment” (Volinsky). In order for a patient to be able make these types of decisions they must first be deemed competent. While the choice of patient’s to refuse life-saving treatment may go against nursing ethical codes and beliefs to attempt and coerce them to get treatment is trespass and would conclude in legal action. “….then refusal of these interventions may be regarded as inappropriate, but in the case of a patient with capacity, the patient must have the ultimate authority to decide” (Volinsky). While my values of the worth of life and importance of action may be different than others, as a nurse I have to learn to set that aside and follow all codes of ethics whether I have a dilemma with them or not. Sometimes with ethics there is no right or wrong, but as a nurse we have to figure out where to draw the line in some cases.

    Read More

  • Force Feeding Anorexic Patients: Is This Practice Doing More Harm Than Good?

    1388 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...nent. Furthermore, I can already tell that this is not a black and white issue, as most are not, so it will be interesting to begin researching this issue and learning more about it so that I can say that I am opposed to force feeding patients with anorexia or that I am opposed to it except under certain conditions and circumstances. The question still remains, however, is forced feeding anorexic patients humane and helpful with treatment? As with my friend, I strongly believe that it was in no way beneficial to her and only hindered her progress toward recovery, so I consider this not humane and certainly not helpful with a patient’s treatment. However, I do realize there may be times when it is in the patient’s best interest to be force fed, although the decision should not be made by a doctor or a judge, but by the patient or someone who knows the patient best.

    Read More

  • Moral and Ethical Issues of Euthanasia

    1525 Words  | 4 Pages

    McGee, Glenn and Arthur L. Caplan. "Medical Ethics." Microsoft® Encarta® 98 Encyclopedia. © 1993-1997: Microsoft Corporation. CD-ROM.

    Read More

  • The 30 Hour Famine

    643 Words  | 2 Pages

    I participated in an event my church held called the 30 Hour Famine. The purpose behind this event is to raise money for hunger in individual families or even whole countries around the world. People that participate in it fast for 30 hours straight with nothing but water and occasional juice to drink. From experience, it is not easy. You experience this faint feeling that you aren’t accustomed to. Your body tells you that you need food, and that your energy is running on empty. The emptiness and the feeling of surrender you experience fasting is like when your car is almost out of gas and it needs that teeny little extra push on the pedal to make it move. The 30 Hour Famine is not about being able to say “I can go 30 hours without eating.” It is about gaining perspective on what hunger feels like for so many people in all parts of the world, and empathy with all of those who experience it daily.

    Read More

More about Hunger Strike Speech

Open Document