Essay on The Terri Schiavo’s Case Analysis - 1037 Words

The Terri Schiavo’s Case Analysis When a patient is unable to make decisions for himself or herself, their caregivers and those who know them are appointed to make the decisions based on what the patient would have wanted. This is called surrogate decision making. According to the article Terri Schiavo and End-of-Life Decisions â€Å"when surrogate decision makers and caregivers cannot agree upon what that choice would have been, they may turn to the courts to determine either what the now-incapacitated patient would have chosen or who is best suited to choose as the patient would have† (Mathes, 2005) In 1990 Terri Schiavo suffered cardiac arrest at age 27, due to hypokalemia secondary to an eating disorder. Terri suffered severe†¦show more content†¦The story of Terri brings about many questions that represent ethical, moral and legal issues. Such issues include her quality of life, best interest, the fact that Terri had no living will, and of course, family conflict. If I had to make the decision on what to do in Terri Schaivo’s case I would do what Michael Schiavo had done, I would fight to have the feeding tube removed. I believe that if a person has no quality of life and is in a PVS state, they have no feelings, they feel no pain, and they are not aware of their surroundings. According to the article Terri Schiavo and End-of-Life Decisions â€Å"Terri could not continue both to be alive and be free from invasive medical procedures† (Mathes, 2005) I feel keeping them alive is unfair to them and to their loved ones. I also believe that the surrogate decision maker should follow the â€Å"best interest† standard, which is, given the medical facts and prognosis, make decisions that would be in the best interests of the patient. (Hook Mueller, 2005) There was a lot of evidence and proof from the doctors in regards to the fact that Terri was not going to get better, there were no medical interventions left that coul d help her. Prolonging treatment for Terri would not have changed her quality of life or made it better. In my opinion, Michael Schiavo acted properly as a surrogate decision maker because first of all, he followed her previously spoken wishes and views and, second of all, he acted in herShow MoreRelatedAnalysis of an Ethical Dilemma Essay1232 Words   |  5 Pages Analysis of an Ethical Dilemma (Part1) Voluntary/ Assisted Euthanasia By Feba Erattakulangara, Jacinda Koski, Nne Uyoh, Olga Gray Grand Canyon University Ethical Decision Making in Health Care NRS 437V February 24, 2013 Analysis of an Ethical Dilemma (Part1) Voluntary/ Assisted Euthanasia Amongst the multitude of ethical dilemmas in health care the debate about voluntary or assisted euthanasia presents to be theRead MoreEssay about Clinical Ethics: The Case of Terri Shiavo1164 Words   |  5 PagesI have chosen to discuss the case of Terri Shiavo which was a very big ethical case back in 2005. She had been left on a ventilator for 15 years. So let’s start from the beginning. On February 25, 1990 Terri Schiavo had a cardiac arrest that was causes by extreme hypokalemia (low potassium) brought on by an eating disorder (Quill, 2005). As a result of this cardiac arrest Terri developed severe hypoxic – ischemic encephalopathy which is another way of saying lack of oxygen to the brain (Quill, 2005)Read MoreEssay Euthanasia2120 Words   |  9 Pagesthat is also very selfish of families to keep their loved ones alive. One example of this lies in the great deal of controversy that has arisen over the case of Florida resident Terri Schiavo. Terri’s husba nd, Michael, has fought against her parents, Robert and Mary Schindler, for court approvals to terminate life support. After eight years of Terri being in a coma following a cardiac arrest, it had been determined that she would be in a â€Å"persistent vegetative state†(Kirkland). Michael insisted that