As the resident ethicist at Mt. Trinity hospital, you have been called upon to give your opinion on a recent case brought in front of the hospital board. The case involves a request by a patient (Jane Doe) diagnosed with a terminal neurological illness, who requested a lethal dose of painkillers so as to end her life.
Doe maintained that the slow yet progressive loss of control over her bodily functions, which would eventually leave her dependent entirely upon medical equipment to live, robbed her of her dignity as a human being and therefore made her own life intolerable to her. Her request was denied on the grounds that she was a) not in acute physical or psychological pain, and b) did not yet have a prognosis of death within six months (the standards used to consider such requests). Doe claimed that these factors are arbitrary from a moral point of view, that she was already suffering, and that being forced to request the lethal dose when one was not suggested to her was a cruel imposition, made only worse when the request was denied. She might yet appeal the decision.
You have been asked to make your recommendation for future cases of this kind. Specifically, you have been asked to weigh in on a) whether or not similar requests should be considered moving forward, and b) whether the hospital should, as a general policy, make patients aware of their having an option to be given a lethal injection of painkillers, if they meet the criteria set by the hospital.
Your recommendation should be addressed to the hospital board. It should begin with short and clear answers to these questions above. The remainder should provide clear philosophical reasons or justifications for your response, showing awareness of possible counter arguments to your position, so that the board has a balanced perspective. They have asked that you limit your response to around 600 words.
NOTE: The response should be informed by the two readings assigned for this topic, as well as relevant discussion during lectures. Be sure you’ve read through the readings at least twice. If your response fails to make use of obvious points from the readings, you will be penalized for it. (There is no need, however, to provide citations or a bibliography.)
Sample Solution
