Legal and Ethical Dilemma Essay: The main issue.
In this legal and ethical dilemma essay, the main issue is that a son claims that his mother wants to be euthanized or subjected to physician-assisted suicide. However, the lady has not expressed such interest to her caregivers, and the nurse found out that the son is her sole heir and question his motives. Get legit paper writing services today!
Legal and Ethical Dilemma Essay: Facts about this issue.
Mrs. Greene is an 89-year-old woman currently suffering from age-related health problems and has in a nursing facility for 18 months. Her next of kin is David, her son, who is married and has three children. Even though David cared for his mother and saw him frequently during the earlier days of her stay in the nursing facility, his wife does not care about her mother in law.
This fact is relevant because David’s wife is likely to influence him negatively towards his mother. Mrs. Greene’s health has deteriorated significantly over the past few months, which can be attributed to her refusing to eat the food served to her but likes other foods’ aroma (Singh, 2014). David approached his mother’s caregivers and informed them that she wants to be euthanized as she is tired of living a low life quality.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Green has not expressed such interest to her caregivers and even hates it when his son visits due to how he treats her. It is also essential to note that David’s visits have declined significantly over the recent past. David is threatening to sue Shady Brook, the nursing home if the facility does not care about his mothers’ wants.
Legal and Ethical Dilemma Essay: Alternative solutions that the ethics committee might consider
The ethics committee may adhere to David’s request and Euthanize Mrs. Greene. Such a solution would be arrived at considering that David cares about his mother, as he has hired her as a caregiver until she developed dementia. Mrs. Greene’s health has also deteriorated significantly, which can be attributed to her lack of eating and indication that she is no longer willing to live in her current state. Mrs. Greene’s lack of expression that she wants to die may be deemed irrelevant due to her dementia (Singh, 2014). David’s reduced frequency of visits under this assumption can be explained as David is now tired of seeing his mother and would like the facility to put her out of her misery.
Another alternative solution to the issue ignores David’s request and change Mrs. Greene’s diet to the kind of foods that she is interested in, which may improve her health, as her caregivers find her relatively healthy. This is contrary to her son’s wishes, where he points out that he wants his mother to be denied food, which would lead to her death. Such a solution would be arrived at considering that David has an intensive to falsely claiming that his mother wants to die to inherit her property. The ethics committee might find it relevant and alarming that David’s wife does not show care for her mother in law and is likely to influence him to euthanize his mother.
Shady Brook may decide to both fail to euthanize Mrs. Greene and avoid getting sued by David by asking him to move his mother to a different facility that might consider carrying on with his request. The ethics committee may consider Mrs. Greene relatively healthy and cannot be euthanized (Singh, 2014).
Legal and Ethical Dilemma Essay: The consequences from the perspectives of Mrs. Greene
The first alternative involves euthanizing Mrs. Greene as per her son’s request. Here Mrs. Greene is likely to lose her life against her interest, as she has not expressed the desire to die to any of her primary caregivers. However, it is essential to consider the possibility that David’s claim is accurate, and his mother is tired of the pain she has been through and wants to die. Euthanizing her would stop her from living a life of suffering as she is already 89 years old, has dementia and other age-related health problems.
The second alternative involves failing to euthanize Mrs. Green as per her son’s request and letting her continue living in the facility (Singh, 2014). This solution would be accompanied by finding the types of foods she enjoys and providing them to her. Such a solution would lead to the improvement of her health and being alive for longer. It is also essential to consider that failing to euthanize her, with all the current medical health, may lead to her living a poor quality of life without her son’s care and love.
The third alternative involves avoiding euthanizing Mrs. Greene and avoiding a law suit from David, which can be achieved by sending her away from the nursing facility. Here Mrs. Green would lose the only people in her best interest, as her son would take her to a facility willing to euthanize her.
Legal and Ethical Dilemma Essay: The consequences from the perspectives of Shady Brook
The Shady Brook’s ethic committee is in a dilemma as the first alternative, which involves euthanizing Mrs. Greene, may be used to avert a lawsuit from David. A lawsuit may not be averted in this case as Betty, the caregiver, may choose to pursue the matter further if the facility chooses to euthanize her (Singh, 2014). The consequences of legal action from Mrs. Greene’s insurer are also dire and may cast the facility in both financially and in their reputation.
Under the second alternative, the facility may decide that there is no enough evidence to justify carrying on with the euthanasia. Under this alternative, David may choose to sue them something that might cost them financially and reputation.
Under the third option, the facility may choose to avert a lawsuit at any cost by asking David to move his mother to a different facility. Here, neither David nor Betty can sue them; however, they will be allowing David to take his mother elsewhere where he can be euthanized.
Legal and Ethical Dilemma Essay: The alternatives from the standpoint of the patient’s rights
From Mrs. Greene’s right’s standpoint, the first alternative involves asking Mrs. Green directly if she would like assisted suicide. Here two of the ethic committee members may choose to accompany Betty, Mrs. Greene’s caregiver, and discuss whether and why she chooses to be euthanized and the facility can do anything to him improve the quality of life of her stay (Singh, 2014).
Another alternative involves facilitating the patients’ quality of life, bearing in mind that she is 89-year-old and has multiple health-related problems. Therefore, it is her right to terminate her suffering with the consideration that she is not eating and has no family members to care for her. David, on the other hand, reserves the right to move her to a different facility.
Legal and Ethical Dilemma Essay: My recommendation to the ethics committee
I would recommend that the ethics committee take a keen look at all the case facts before arriving at any decision. Considering that David claims that his mother claims that he wants to be euthanized, the facility may choose to consult her directly whether she may request and if she still wants to be euthanized (Singh, 2014). One might claim her answer would not be valid because she has dementia. Such a scenario would directly discredit David’s claim meaning that his lawsuit would be weak. Therefore, it is my recommendation that the facility euthanizes Mrs. Greene, only with her verbal consent.
Legal and Ethical Dilemma Essay: Betty’s comment
Yes, the fact that David stands to benefit financially from his mother’s death is relevant in this matter. His claim that Mrs. Greene wants to be euthanized is compromised and can only be validated with her verbal consent (Singh, 2014). Therefore, it is essential that the committee sermon David and ask him to justify his claims, bearing in mind that the money might incentivize him. This might be a significant problem if they decide to carry on with euthanasia, as Mrs. Greene’s life insurance company can use it against the facility.
Legal and Ethical Dilemma Essay: References
Singh, D. A. (2014). Effective management of long-term care facilities. Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
