When you are left to make decisions in a hard position, have you ever thought it may be to “play god” in a loved one’s life? Playing the act of god is unfortunately related to euthanasia because you are doing just that. Euthanasia, which in fact is defined as painlessly killing someone who maybe helpless from a sickness or injury (Webster) has become a big debate over the years. It has been said that we were put on this earth to live as long as we are entitled to and die when it is time. With all being said I believe euthanasia should remain illegal unless the patient has documentation stating otherwise.
It takes money to keep a person alive and the patient eventually turns into a number. Then before you know it and it is said and done that 30 percent of health care you paid becomes a waste (PBS Frontline). To me giving the doctors right to killing people is just not right either. We look up to our physicians as way to help diagnosis, treat and face illness, not to kill us. Due to allegations and reports now a days it has also been noted that “physician-assisted suicide (Strohm)” has been an issue from our doctors who are supposed to care for us and lead us in the right direction.
Would this information give you more reasoning to assure you have a will, DNR or even advanced directives? This should give you more reasoning to make sure you have the correct person to take over your health abilities when you become incapable of doing so even if you don’t file for any documents. Just think you may be the one laying in a bed completely unaware of your surroundings. The next thing you know husband is making decisions to put you on life support hoping you may pull through knowing you wanted to just let go with no medications and no life support.
Family may not want to make the right decisions on letting you go because they have hope so they make you suffer. For example, Marthe Laureville, who had been diagnosed with dementia, was intubated from a possible cause of asphyxiation (loss of oxygen) after choking on her own saliva. Her two daughters, in whom both work in the medical field, can’t are deciding to take their mother off the ventilator. Now that right there should tell you if you are a person with medical experience why would you do what you see? Those daughters know what will happen and what the possible chances are that you do okay on your own.
Then they have to decide what to do if she doesn’t do well off the ventilator. This decision would be the most hardest because they either let her go and make her comfortable or they ventilator her once again and just hope. As one of the daughters states “I don’t want to be the one to say [do not resuscitate] and to be responsible for her death before her time. … I [will] not stop her from breathing. … I will maintain her until the last minute (PBS Frontline, 2010). ” So when all else fails she will continue to play god because she is at fear of losing her mother.
I couldn’t say I wouldn’t do the same thing but I wouldn’t want to see my mother suffer. In situations when families play god it could prolong suffering. In all honesty everyone should consider getting an advance directive written up. Only you, yourself, know what kind of life you want to live when under the situation of dying so take action. To many family members left to make decisions like this carry on with regret and denial so they tend to leave their loved one to carry on a life of discomfort. Other problems when it comes to playing god in all the wrong ways, is when doctors are solely involved.
With this being said there has been “physician-assisted suicide” that has been called the legal medical treatment of doctor-prescribed suicide (Strohm). How can that even be far? It has been legalized in three states as of this time for doctors to help patients commit their own suicide. Situations like this put burdens on families, will cause more debt when the time is done and doesn’t even give the patient the sole right of how to end their life. The doctors aren’t even giving alternatives in this state like health professionals should. Instead they sit down and tell you how they can give you a lethal dose of barbiturates.
Just think instead of helping assist with the death of patients physicians are forcing the death amongst those who are suffering. It only makes the world worse. For every patient involved with physician suicide adds another doctor to the list of lost professionalism. The legalizing of physician-assisted suicide will become such an indiscriminate to the ill as well as others and it would cause for people to drop like flies. An example that follows along the lines of a physician issue is making a decision for a patient that he or she may not want.
A man has developed Alzheimer’s disease and has been going downhill to the point he no longer eats. That man can’t make any decisions for himself because he can’t talk and he has no family. The nurses decide that it is best to force food into that man’s system. They used tube after tube and the man kept removing it which shows he isn’t hesitant to deny the fact he doesn’t want it. This man may be out of his mind because he has Alzheimer’s but I believe he is trying to say he has had enough (University of Illinois, 2013). So why make him suffer? Health care cost in general has gone through the roof.
You have to have insurance to be seen, you aren’t at a certain age to be accepted for this benefit or they take you for the run of your money. According to journalist Jeff Poor researched finds to show that health care is trying to get a system like the U. K. If that is fit to be tied you think not having insurance will be a loss because we would be under the care of charge fanatics. We won’t be given any kinds of medication we would be given specific medication. In other words it is a situation in which they will play god with the health care system as well.
I would have to say the only good thing out of that situation is at least we know no one will overdose themselves on drugs. So after all that has been said and done would you still consider playing god you’re your family’s life? A loved one should never be so precious where you play the god card because you want to be selfish. It is unfair to watch people suffer no matter who they are to you. I believe it will make all situations better to assure you have documents with your wishes, for them to keep physician-suicide illegal amongst all state and get a good health care plan. With things like this we are in an end to no population.