Running head: MEDICAL ETHICS & ASSISTED SUICIDE 1

MEDICAL ETHICS AND ASSISTED SUICIDE

Submitted to: Sir Ashraf Khosa

PHILOPHY – 201

Submitted by: Yasir Mehmood

Roll No: 29

BS English 4th semester (Evening)

Department of English

Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan

12 – 07 – 2020
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Ethics

The concept of ethics is as old as human race. Sometimes ethics is referred to a branch of

philosophy that is called Moral Philosophy. Ethics is based on well-grounded principles of right

and wrong that propose what humans should do, generally in terms of rights, obligations,

benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues. These are the apprehension of the nature of

conflicts raised from moral obligations and how best we should deal with them. Particularly,

ethics deals with conflicts in the potential outcomes (consequences of actions) or with duties and

obligations. It doesn’t decide what is morally right or wrong; rather it considers how we should

act best in the view of our duties and obligations as moral representatives. Ethics are concerned

with our own feeling that what it say right or wrong, our religious believes, what our law

requires and which behaviors our society accepts. These things lay the basis of ethics. Ethics are

deeply rooted in our social norms. Although ethics is a broader term as compared to social

norms they are still very much interrelated. Ethics may differ from society to society, religion to

religion as they are based on social values, religious believes. Thus they may vary from society

to society. Now the point hits the mind that what are these ethics for? And why are these so

important in our life? And what are the benefits we get from these ethics? How will be the life

devoid of ethics? So elucidating briefly, the ethics just regulate our life. They give us a

standardized pattern of conduct when interacting with other elements of our society. It not just

includes other fellow humans but also animals and not even just animals but also with non-living

entities dwelling our surroundings. For instance, ethics are even concerned with our environment

and cadavers. Ethics gives us a set of principles to let our life stay ordered. Without these ethics,

our life will be order less

MEDICAL ETHICS

Medical Ethics or Clinical Ethics is examining a specific clinical problem and using values, logic

and facts to decide which way to opt. This is a critical condition when a clinician is in a

dilemma, what to do. There comes a conflict between his duties, moralities, values and ethics,

and he is stuck to choose one among these. In general cases we have two vivid choices to choose

right or wrong, but in some clinical conditions, we have choices that are hard to select one from

those. We have our duties on one side and on the other side we have our values, norms, family

relations, out inner feelings, our emotions, and our interest. Not just ours, sometimes we have to

choose between the benefit of the patient and our interest.

Clinicians have certain duties of care to the patients and to society. It is commonly believed that

clinicians should always act in the best interest of their patients. Still, in some conditions, there is

a conflict between compulsions to a patient and those supposed to be owed to the community or

other patients. It is not necessarily right that what the clinician believes is in the best interest of

the patient or what the patient wishes.

History of Medical Ethics:

The application of ethical codes in medicine is additionally as old concept. Some of the greatest

and oldest civilizations called for the practice of ethics in medicine.

After completing the medical degree requirements, the new physicians take the Hippocratic

Oath. It was basically composed in the 5th century BC. Hippocrates were there during the time of

ancient Greek civilization and it is considered as the Father of Medicine in western cultures.
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Physicians have to recite the oath and they swear to protect and serve, same for the duty of law

enforcement officers. Hippocrates must have known the innumerable types of questionable moral

dilemmas medical practitioners face on a regular basis as well as the necessity for physicians to

have some kind of ethical compass to seek guidance from. Prior to medical students to practice

medicine legally for anyone, they must swear to acknowledge a code of ethics.

Importance of Medical Ethics:

Ethics is a basic element of medical practice and forms the modern medical profession. Health

and medical practitioners must challenge ethical dilemmas on a regular basis. In other words,

ethical dilemmas are not rare and thus deserve special attention. Institutional approaches to

ethics must be realized, instead of individual behavior approaches that are grounded on

someone’s faiths or insight. The declarations of medical ethics entails the doctor to do what is

best for the patient and prioritize the patient’s interests over the interest of the doctor.

Principally, the aim of medical ethics is to protect and secure human poise and patients’ rights.

Medical ethics is a canon that encourage that the doctor keep what is best for the patient. This

practice in the west is exhibited with things such as the Hippocratic Oath.

Medical ethics has changed over the years and stretched to more than just physicians. While the

custom in the west of medical ethics started in ancient Greece, in recent times, more than just

physicians are sustained to code of ethics. Medical Ethics, moreover, has changed its meanings

over time. Until now, physicians had the right to decide how patients should be doctored and

there was no compulsion to take the informed consent of the patient. In the 21 st century, in many
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countries, all kinds of healthcare professionals must have the consent of a family member or

partner.

With the practice of technology and medicine itself, medical ethics has evolved over the years.

Physicians have always been thought answerable for the lives of the patients they treat. There is

a need for the doctors to act with empathy and with ethical contemplation. There are frequently

tough decisions and challenges made in medical profession. The life care and its treatment is a

crucial and sensitive profession. It is the logic why ethics are essential in medicine. Furthermore,

doctors have access to confidential information and a vast range of pharmaceuticals. It is good

indication for conscientious and ethical people to serve as physicians. Doctors devoid of ethics,

are just hazardous. They don’t have the idea of distinction of right and wrong; thus, such doctors’

decisions cannot be trusted. Trust is a primary component in the interaction and relationship of

patient and physician and the family of the patient or the attendee of the patient.

Ethics is relative, like culture. What is right or wrong in one cultural beliefs, may not qualify as

right or wrong in the other. With regard to the practice of medicine, there is a need for principles

or standards in clinical ethics. The international guidelines acknowledge that the practice of

ethical standards needs to justify cultural traditions and values. It is not always sagacious to trust

on them when healthcare practitioners are fronting serious ethical circumstances that may

explicitly relate to local beliefs. So, national guidance can be helpful to medical practitioners and

ethicists, as these guiding principles have the essential power and authorization.

There is not only a need for clinical ethics, but there is also a need for an international criterion

for medical ethics. Physicians around the globe need medical ethics and those ethics should be
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almost the same for doctors in every part of the planet, regardless of the variations in culture.

There are many circumstances when medical practitioners from one country or culture have to

serve in different countries or different cultures. Thus in this way an international standard is

necessary. International standards for medical ethics guarantee that ethics are practiced with

relative standardization across the globe.

Examples of Medical Ethics Dilemmas:

In the current times, some of the most common medical dilemmas that are faced by the doctors

are given below:

 On the top we should mention Assisted Suicide. Sometimes a patient under the treatment is

suffering intensely due to some fatal illness. And the doctor knows he will not survive. What

a doctor should do in this particular situation. Whether the doctor end up the patient’s life or

let him suffer from that pain. The same case, if someone is in comma since long and the hope

of his recovery wipes out completely. Then what should the doctor do?

 If the doctor has single equipment, let a ventilator, and two patients are there needing

ventilator. One is inconnu and the second is somewhat in relation with the doctor. In this case

who the doctor should prefer?

 Currently, we are suffering from COVID-19. And the hospitals in our country are not

provided with adequate medical kits or PPE. It is a risk for the doctor to be infected by the

virus if he treats the patients infected with Corona virus. Now should the doctor treat them

selflessly or should care for just himself?

Assisted Suicide is further described next:

ASSISTED SUICIDE

Assisted suicide, or assisted dying, is suicide that is carried out with the help of another person.

The term generally refers to physician-assisted suicide, which is suicide that is aided by

a physician or other healthcare worker. Once it is finalized that the person's condition qualifies

under the physician-assisted suicide laws for that area, the physician's assistance is generally

limited to writing a prescription for a fatal dose of drugs.

Terminology:

Suicide refers to the act of killing oneself. When another person assists an individual person dies by

suicide, such as offering equipment or tools, is assisted suicide. Whereas Physician-assisted suicide is

caused due to the help physician "knowingly and intentionally providing a person with the knowledge or

means or both required to commit suicide, including counselling about lethal doses of drugs, prescribing

lethal doses or supplying the drugs".

Assisted suicide is compared to Euthanasia, sometimes regarded as mercy killing, in which the

person dying does not directly cause their own death, instead the person is killed in order to stop

the person from underdoing further suffering. Euthanasia can be with or without permission.

Killing someone who is suffering and who gave consents is termed as voluntary euthanasia. This

is at present legal in some territories. If the person doesn’t provide consent then it is called non-

voluntary euthanasia. Killing someone who is not willing to die, or who is able to give consent

and whose consent has not been asked, in this case it is the crime of involuntary euthanasia, and

so regarded as murder.
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Right to die is the faith that people possess a right to die, may it be through euthanasia, various

kinds of suicide or refusing from lifesaving.

Arguments in Favor of Assisted Death:

Arguments in favoring assisted death include respect for patient sovereignty, equal treatment of

end stage ill patients on and off life support, compassion, personal liberty, and

transparency. When death seems imminent (6 months or less) patients can choose assisted death

as a medical choice to limit his suffering from the dying process. In USA, pain was not reported

as major factor that lead to assisted death; the three most often mentioned life ending reasons

reported by Oregon residents in 2015who used The Death With Dignity Act, were: some

physical disability (96.2%), loss of autonomy (92.4%), and loss of dignity (75.4%).

Supportive Organizations:

Many organizations as well as some religions supports the assisted suicide if someone wants an

exit from their life, such as, Utilitarian Universalism (UU). And some of the organizations that

support it are; Compassion and Choices, Death with Dignity National Center, Dignitas

(Switzerland), Dignity in Dying, Disabled Activists for Dignity in Dying, Exit, Exit

international, Friends at the End (FATE), Final Exit Network, Humanists UK, My Death My

Decision, Pegasos Swiss Association and World Federation of Right to Die Societies.
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Opposition Bodies:

There are some bodies that are in the opposition of assisted suicide, such as; Medical Ethics,

Code of Ethics, Hippocratic Oath, Declaration of Geneva, International Code of Medical Ethics

and Statement of Marbella.

Religious Stances:

Some religious stances about assisted suicide are given below:

 Islam

In Islam assisted suicide or any form of assisted death is itself a sin. According to the beliefs in

Islam, the life is gift from Allah so protecting it is compulsory for all those who are endowed

with it rather to lose it. Allah has only the decision power to take back someone’s life.

 Catholicism

The Roman Catholic Church says that decisions about someone’s life should be make according

to their own faith and beliefs. Moreover catholic doctrines are in resemblance with Islamic point

of view that God has the only decision power about someone’s life to end that or let them alive.

 Judaism

Preservation of life is the greatest values in Judaism. According to the practices of Judaism, they

don’t allow anybody to terminate the life even if suffering from intractable pain or a fatal patient.

 The Church of Latter-day Saints

The church of Jesus Christ of LDS church is against euthanasia. Anyone found involved in

assisted suicide or euthanasia, is known to have violated the commandments of God.

Neutrality:

The organizations have been called to take a neutral point of view on assisted suicide, rather than

opposing it. This would better reflect the stances of healthcare professionals and of wider

society.

Some of those organizations are mentioned below:

The UK Royal college of Nursing (2009), The California Medical Association (2015), The

Massachusetts Medical Society MMS (2017), The American Academy of Family Physicians

AAFP (2018) and The British Royal College of Physicians (2019).

Legal Stance:

If we talk about the legality of the assisted suicide, there are many countries where assisted

suicide is legal while still in some regions of the world, assisted suicide is regarded as assistance

in murder. It depends upon the social practices, faiths, religious views, and culture of every

region. Such as the counties where it is legal are: Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium, Canada,

Luxembourg and Colombia. Whereas some of the countries where assisted suicide is illegal are:

Pakistan, Germany, France, Denmark and China.

Conclusion

In the light of above discussion we can conclude that Medical Ethics, particularly Assisted

Suicide is relative to a considerable extent. We can no vividly call them right or wrong, moral or

immoral, because they are not associated with any single religion or territory. The laws, values,

cultures, practices, beliefs, religious teachings take these with a different angle and these are
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morally right in some and morally wrong according to the others. As this is a global issue

therefore we cannot stick on a single stance taking that as a pivot. It requires more in-depth

research to reach some definite conclusion. Further, there should be a single, universal moral

stance over moral ethics and assisted suicide as well.

References

 Noble, Ray. (2015). Introduction to medical ethics. 10.13140/RG.2.1.2581.5763.

 Elsayed, D.E.M., & Ahmed, R.E.M. (2009) Medical Ethics: What is it? Why is it important?

 Liddell K, Skopek JM, Palmer S, et al. J Med Ethics. 2020; 46: 421–426.

 Schuklenk U. J Med Ethics Epub doi:10.1136/medethics-2020-106278

 Monrad JT. J Med Ethics Epub doi:10.1136/medethics-2020-106235

 Gillon, R. (1994) ‘Medical Ethics: four principles plus attention to scope’. British Medical

Journal.

 Docker, Chris (2015). Five Last Acts: The Safe and Dignified Ways That People Use to End

Their Own Lives When Faced With Unbearable and Unrelievable Suffering. ISBN 978-1-

5119-8850-6

 https://www.dyingwithdignity.ca/assisted_dying_is_not_suicide

 https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/182951