Essay on Euthanasia in Nursing - 731 Words

Euthanasia is a term that originated from the Greek language: eu meaning good and thanatos meaning death. Generally, euthanasia implies the intentional termination of life that is initiated by a person who wishes to commit suicide. However, euthanasia has many meanings and as a result, has several terms that define and differentiate various types of euthanasia. For instance, passive euthanasia is altering a form of support thereby hastening the death of a person, i.e. removing life support or not delivering CPR. Causing the death of a person through a direct action and in response to the request of that person is considered active euthanasia. When information and/or the means are supplied by the physician to commit suicide, it is†¦show more content†¦The American Nurses Association regards active euthanasia inconsistent with the Code for Nurses and is considered ethically unacceptable. It has been the role of a nurse to promote, preserve, and protect human life. As m embers of the profession, nurses are obligated to offer end of life care, which includes the promotion of comfort for pain and suffering, and foregoing life sustaining treatments. Care does not include deliberately terminating life. Where is the distinction made? Personally, its hard for me as a nursing student to differentiate between the passive acceptance of withholding medications or treatments per the patients request and the disfavored active form of euthanasia. I am aware that with one form the nurse is indirectly aiding in a persons request to die and in the other form, the nurse is directly aiding in their death. Either way, the nurse was responsible for carrying out the patients death wish. It is my belief that this topic brings about a lot of debate within the nursing profession, especially between nurses who dont deal with the terminally ill and nurses who do. It is hard to define the whole nursing profession as being opposed to euthanasia because each nurse has seen or experienced the death of someone and has been affected by it individually. For example, I have witnessed the pain andShow MoreRelatedA Brief Note On The Death Of Euthanasia1456 Words   |  6 PagesDeath Rights: Euthanasia We as a people live in a society dominated by politics, laws, ethics, and most of all the freedom of choice. This freedom is challenged for a particular group of individuals who are often ignored in their plea for this choice, no matter how much they beg and scream for a peaceful means of death. 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