Health Sciences 2610F/G Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Involuntary Euthanasia, Jack Kevorkian, Assisted Suicide
17 Jan 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Failing to revive a patient who has signed a dnr order. There are two kinds of passive euthanasia: withholding of treatment, e. g. Not performing a needed surgery or not administering a needed drug: occurs a lot with cancer patients, no initiation of treatment, cessation of treatment, starting to try to fix the problem, but stopping treatment, e. g. Just not the idea of the patient - outside party makes the decision (spouse, parents, sibling, etc. : patient is unable to consent for themselves - severe injury/impairment, note, there is a difference between involuntary and non-voluntary. Involuntary euthanasia is not a seriously considered possibility. Assisted suicide: not actually euthanasia, since the "patient" ultimately kills himself or herself, the line between the two can become very thin, e. g. Someone needs to help: non-voluntary passive euthanasia = legal on appropriate proxy decisions, lots of restrictions - needs to be officially legal before withdrawing.
