Healthcare2 Committees, Euthanasia

Euthanasia laws are sometimes termed to as Physician assisted or the right- to- die laws. The laws tend to specify whether euthanasia is permitted in the laws of the states and the legal aspect of it. Euthanasia involves the withdrawal of life supporting medical procedures to let a person die, i. e. assisted suicide (Pozgar, & Santucci, 2010). In the real sense, there are no specific federal laws regarding the case of euthanasia. Laws regarding this issue are often left to be dealt with at individual state levels and therefore tend to differ from state to state.

Ethical Aspects of These Laws Some arguments for and against euthanasia have been brought forward. Ideas’ campaigning for euthanasia argues that the process should be administered if the person is under severe pain, or physical and psychological suffering. It is argued that euthanasia will help relieve these people from suffering that they might be experiencing. The opponents against euthanasia are based on the act of killing being morally unacceptable and wrong. Killing is forbidden and goes against religious teachings.

Some believe that though some diseases or illness may be cured from new procedures being discovered and unexpected healings occurring. Mercy killing will also lower health care thus leading to victimization of vulnerable individuals (Pozgar, & Santucci, 2010). Legal Rights of Patients, Families, and Friends The legal and ethical aspects relating to euthanasia are current dilemmas facing the medical care professionals currently. Decisions by family and friends of the sick are depended on the love and care they have for their loved one.

Therefore the decision to either end the life of an individual should entirely lie on the family. The families have the rights to decide for their sick members especially if they are undergoing severe pain and sufferings. They also have a right if their patients are in a comatose or a vegetative state and can not make decisions on their own. 2. Health Care Committees This is a group of people who are charged with the responsibility of acting as resource personnel when decisions involving ethical issues become a challenge.

The committee constitutes of public members, doctors, ethicists, nurses, social workers and lawyers among many others. The committee consults in private and offer guidance and assistance regarding ethical matters. From the advice given by the committee, the health personnel make the final decision regarding the step to take assisted by the patient and the family members (Pozgar, & Santucci, 2010) Best Attributes Of Ethics Committee The committees offer consultations that lead to decisions that best befit the sick, their families and the health care personnel.

The committee is present to offer recommendations regarding issues concerned with policy development and the entire public is educated on ethical issues. Apart from this assistance, the committee also offers help in relation to medical care versus health care provision and look into the disagreements of health personnel on treatment channels to be followed (Otlowski, 2000). Worst Attributes Of Health Care Ethics Committees The committee is viewed by family members of those to undergo euthanasia as killers. This is due to the decisions they normally arrive at.

The committee is faced with new challenges each time a new case is brought before them. Decision makings, course of actions suggested and way forward suggested by the committee has the aspects of right and wrong in relation to the final decisions arrived on by the family and medical practitioners. Ethics Committees Helps Foster and Ensure Ethical Standards Are Upheld In the Medical Profession The ethics committee is made up of professionals. As indicated, the committee is made up of people from different professions who are quite familiar with different ethical issues.

From the constant consultations held regarding ethical issues, it is with no objection that sound decisions are often arrived at. Most often, the decisions they arrive at are found to be embraced by the sick, their families and the medical practitioners since they take into consideration what is good for these different people. This therefore implies that ethical standards are held up high. References Pozgar, D. & Santucci, N. (2010). Legal and Ethical Issues for health care professionals. New York: Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Otlowski, M. (2000). Voluntary Euthanasia and the Common Law. London: Oxford University Press.