Physician-Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia: Battered Child Syndrome

The physiological role of medical practitioners in human healthcare is designated to ease patient's suffering and enhance lifespan extension or conservation. Although death is inevitable, the medics are visualized as active participants in patient's welfare through authentic dedication to duty. Physicians are entitled to enhance and solve patients' life on health issues. Assisted suicide is socially condemned on the authenticity of the practice. At certain times especially where terminal illnesses or extreme pain is suffered doctors are protected by their oath of hypocrisy to assist the patient in reducing the span of suffering. In cases when self-willed deaths are of essence to ease the patient's suffering the physician is obligated to make the patient comfortable through euthanasia (Foddy, 2009). This paper will discuss the ethical and unethical effects of prescribing placebos as a credibility of euthanasia to reduce the stakeholder's ordeal in dealing with the dying process.

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Physician-assisted suicide has in many states globally evoked mixed reactions owing to the legality, morality, and the authenticity of the practice. The medic is responsible to ensure that patients with terminal or extreme painful situation life their last days with upheld dignity and comfort. Administration of placebos as a treatment to give hope and comfort either deceitfully or with the patient's full knowledge on the conditions will make them feel at ease though there is no medical attachment to their comfort and the prescribed drugs. Whenever a patient suffers from an extensive injury that has obvious life-threatening consequences, physician-aided death is a better option. The caution of undergoing with this essential physiological process requires a positive understanding of the immediate concerns of the family and the patients dying wish. Certain issues place the doctor at the liberty of deciding or engaging the concerned parties with the issues at hand (Kermen, Hickner, Brody & Hasham, 2010). For instance, in a case where a patient with terminal illness like cancer and is diagnosed late like in stage four the medic's evaluation of the situation in the expansiveness of the disease to treat the incidence with caution based on the logical concerns of the patient and the family At some times when the patient is very hopeful that he/she will fight the battle it's the doctor's role to at sometimes through the rights of the oath of secrecy and the ethical practices to give hope to the patient and prescribe placebos that will give hope to the patient and the family despite knowing the actual position. In another scenario, the doctor would apply extensive counsel to the patient and the concerned parties to make them aware of the position and prescribe placebos though they have no medical connection the patient is comfortable towards his demise

The ethical values that advocate or condemn administration of placebos to relieve patients suffering through speedy and painless death owing to terminal illness and or extensive irreversible battered child syndrome face a lot of criticism. Despite the goodwill of the ethical practice of physician-assisted suicide, criticism of the palliative care role for medics administration of euthanasia refute the authenticity of their judgment of the vulnerability of a battered patient or the lifespan expectancy. The credibility of the practitioner's prediction of the lifespan and the likelihood of patient succumbing to injuries or the extent of illness criticisms condemns them for baselessness (Fent, Rosemann, Fassler, Senn & Huber, 2011). For example, a patient with extensive head injuries and have suffered internal bleeding in the head will be predicted to only have a short lifespan to succumb to the injuries. However, critics of the lifespan prediction and the administration of placebos to quicken his or her death fail to give the patient the chance that they would otherwise recover after extensive healthcare. At some instances, many critics of the authenticity of terminating a person's life before their 'right' time due to the sacredness and moral ethics of life preservation and the condemnation of unethicality of murder.

The circumstances necessitating euthanasia places medical practitioners at the crossroads protected by their oath of secrecy and deceit to ensure that the patient with battered child syndrome or any other terminal illness is at their best situation in the final days towards their death. The physician needs to be cautious of the issues at hand to ensure the patient graceful meets their death with reduced pain and suffering as well as protecting their professionalism from lawsuits. Therefore, when deciding on the administration of placebos it essential for the medic to evaluate the ethical and unethical reputation of his or her actions. At certain times giving excess details places the physician executing assisted suicide at the risk of 'comebacks' (Bishop, Aizlewood & Adams, 2014).

Conclusion

In conclusion, the ethical and unethical norms of practicing physician-aided suicide hasten death for patients with a medical condition that is life-threatening and the life expectancy is abruptly shortened. The legal obligation of medical practitioners in fulfilling their duties and enhancing human dignity by easing extensive suffering through euthanasia is credible whether done with patient's consent or not. The extensive social crucifying of medical-aided death places the medics at the tie of ensuring that whatever they prescribe to patients with terminal illness by handling each case with its uniqueness in the parties involved.

References

Bishop, F. L., Aizlewood, L., & Adams, A. M. (2014). When and Why Placebo-Prescribing Is Acceptable and Unacceptable: A Focus Group Study of Patients' Views. Plos ONE, 9(7), 1-9. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0101822

Foddy, B. (2009). A Duty to Deceive: Placebos in Clinical Practice. American Journal Of Bioethics, 9(12), 4-12. doi:10.1080/15265160903318350

Fent, R., Rosemann, T., Fassler, M., Senn, O., & Huber, C. A. (2011). The use of pure and impure placebo interventions in primary care - a qualitative approach. BMC Family Practice, 12(1), 11-17. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-11-11

Kermen, R., Hickner, J., Brody, H., & Hasham, I. (2010). Family physicians believe the placebo effect is therapeutic but often use real drugs as placebos. Family medicine, 42(9), 636.

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2011/12/the-placebo-debate-is-it-unethical-to-prescribe-them-to-patients/250161/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2013/03/22/is-it-ethical-for-doctors-to-prescribe-placebo/#29d2fa5429c6