Assisted Euthanasia
Being a man who thought his days were over following an explosion, Mr Dav wanted to kill himself to end his own suffering. Were it not for his father who refused to give him a gun, what could have happened remains anyone’s guess.
Ethically, the father did a wise thing. His refusal itself instilled faith in his son. Remember him saying that his father’s reaction when the man first saw him is what made him thought he was finished and ought to die. It is, therefore, laudable what the father did. It must remain a warning to all those who would rush to end a person’s life just because the patient has requested. The moral lesson is that sometimes the patient’s conscience is never sound, and one has to bring into consideration many ethical expectations (Kohl, 1974).
Normally, nurses are not allowed to carry out euthanasia. Even in countries where the practice is legal, only qualified doctors are allowed to decide whether to carry it out, and even then have to consult their fellow doctors (Rachels, 1986). But this is a delicate case in which only the nurse was very close. It is evident in the video that patients put their trust in the medical practitioners that requires an equal measure of honesty on the part of the nurses (Torr, 2000). It is very encouraging that the nurse involved here resisted requests to help the patient die. The practice of nursing is guided by the Hippocratic Oath by all medical practitioners which seeks to promote life and not terminate it (Charles, 2003).
It could be from this oath that the nurse decided to let the life of the patient run its full stretch. It becomes a good example for other nurses to emulate when confronted with such dire cases of life and death (Nick, 2002).
