PHIL 2390H Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Palliative Sedation, Palliative Care, Sedation
26 Jun 2018
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Terminal Sedation (AKA Palliative sedation)
- The use of high doses of pain medication to treat patients suffering at the end of his
natural life, with the awareness that such high dosages will hasten the patient’s death
by reducing respiration and heart rate.
- Goal is to manage pain, although it does cause an increased risk of death (respiration
and heart rate problems)
The Moral dilemma
- Adequate pain management in palliative care requires this sedation but…
- It will at some point lead to the patient’s death…
- And this might be seen as indistinguishable from euthanasia.
- Giving them a drug that will ultimately lead to their death
- If you are in favour of euthanasia in at least some circumstances this may not seem like
a problem,
- If euthanasia is not morally acceptable health care providers find themselves in a
situation where they either fail to respond to the pain of their parents, or ‘harm’ them
by contributing to their death.
The Doctrine of Double Effect
- A principle stating that a proposed action that will have benefits but will cause some
harm is permissible if the action itself is morally appropriate and the foreseen harm is
not intended.
Key Conditions for DoDE:
1. The action itself must be good or at least indifferent;
2. The good effect and not the evil effect must be intended;
3. The good effect must not be the product of the evil effect
4. There must be a proportionately grave reason for permitting the evil effect
Terminal sedation = death is the side effect; the intention is to manage the pain.
The need of the good effect must be proportional to the evil effect
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Document Summary
The use of high doses of pain medication to treat patients suffering at the end of his natural life, with the awareness that such high dosages will hasten the patient"s death by reducing respiration and heart rate. Goal is to manage pain, although it does cause an increased risk of death (respiration and heart rate problems) Adequate pain management in palliative care requires this sedation but . It will at some point lead to the patient"s death . And this might be seen as indistinguishable from euthanasia. Giving them a drug that will ultimately lead to their death. If you are in favour of euthanasia in at least some circumstances this may not seem like a problem, If euthanasia is not morally acceptable health care providers find themselves in a situation where they either fail to respond to the pain of their parents, or harm" them by contributing to their death.
