27 Oct Euthanasia is a practice used to end the life of a patient who is suffering from extreme pain or due to a terminal illness.

(THIS THE QUESTION DISCUSSION #1 AND #2 ANWSERED) 1A. Define the following terms:

-Euthanasia

-Active vs. passive euthanasia

-Voluntary vs. involuntary euthanasia

1B. What is physician assisted suicide and how does it differ from euthanasia?)

DISCUSSION #1

Euthanasia is a practice used to end the life of a patient who is suffering from extreme pain or due to a terminal illness. The reason this practice exists is to prevent a patient from having to prolong their pain and discomfort until they pass away on their own. Additionally, the word euthanasia is derived from two Greek words “eu” and “thanatos” which translates to “good death.” (Darr, 2011). This translation affirms that the practice of euthanasia in human healthcare is intended to be compassionate and helpful. Active euthanasia is just as it sounds. It is the practice of actively and purposefully giving a patient a lethal dose of a substance or a drug in order to kill the patient. Active euthanasia is also called aggressive euthanasia due to Its nature (medicine.missouri.edu, 2022). An example of active euthanasia that was questioned legally and ethically per our reading this week shows that giving Henrietta Morrow more morphine than she required to manage her pain would result in her respiration diminishing, resulting in her death. Passive euthanasia is when the decision is made to withhold life-sustaining support such are artificial ventilation and feeding tubes from the patient and therefore allowing them to pass away due to the illness they suffer from. Voluntary and involuntary euthanasia is pretty straightforward and refers to the patient either giving consent or not. The patient and their physician communicate and make the difficult decision based on their unique circumstances. Involuntary euthanasia occurs when the patient cannot speak for themselves due to being unconscious and their wishes are unknown. (medicine.missouri.edu).

DISCUSSION #2

Euthanasia is defined by the practice with the intentions of ending someone’s life to eliminate the pain of the irreversible illness of the patient. This is however of course illegal to practice. This has been one of the most intense discussions when it comes to human being able to choose to live or die when they feel like they are ready to die to do without the pain and suffering. Active vs Passive euthanasia. With active euthanasia sometimes preferred to as “aggressive” is when killing a patient by active means. Meaning a provider injecting the patient with excessive or lethal limits dosage of a drug. With passive this is when the patient is intentionally letting the patient die by withholding life sustainment support. 

 Voluntary euthanasia is defined by the ending of a person’s life by their request to relieve them of further suffering. Involuntary euthanasia has been defined as a person who would be able to provide informed consent, but does not, either because they don’t want to die, or because they were not asked.

Darr, K. (2011). Ethics in health services management, fifth edition. Health Professions Press, Inc. 

Banovic, B. (2014). Euthanasia: Murder or Not: A Comparative Approach 

(THIS IS THE QUESTION DISCUSSION #3 AND #4 ANWSERED) The best hope for avoiding the need for health care rationing and at the same time improving quality of life for the elderly in this country is to integrate public health measure with the medical system to prevent chronic disease. Discuss some strategies to dothis.

DISCUSSION #3

Hello Everyone,

I will be going over topic three this week, and how avoiding healthcare rationing and improving quality of life for the elderly can help prevent or even reduce chronic disease. As most of us may know already, chronic disease is a huge problem. We have seen plenty of measures that haven been put into place to help minimize this, such as banning smoking in public places, The Clean Air Act of 1963, and even recently we have seen the Chronic Disease Management Act of 2021. The biggest cause of chronic disease in America is smoking, secondhand smoke, stress, poor nutrition, and lack of physical activity. While we have seen many bills/laws passed to help mitigate our exposure to things not in our control, we must take a hard look on how we treat our body. I do believe with the many diets of vegan/vegetarian options we will see numbers change in the future and as for my generation I think most everyone I know works out in some capacity, the movement of remote jobs since COVID-19 has had a pretty good outcome with lowering stress, less air pollution, better eating habits and with all these combined in turn show lower visits to hospitals or doctors offices. For the elderly as of now I do not think we would see a huge jump in numbers since most of what we are changing or have changed in the last five to ten years will not directly affect them, but in the future when it comes to healthcare rationing, I could see less high patient copayments, shorter wait times, and more variety in the public and private sector.

DISCUSSION #4

Good evening everyone,

I am going to relate two things that are not usually associated with each other.  Planning for our financial future, and planning for our medical future.  Many people I know started planning for retirement in their early twenties, wanting to ensure their financial success in their later years.  What if we took the same approach with our medical wellness?  Being healthy is a lifestyle that takes years to master and hold onto.  Let’s be honest, most diets require a lifestyle adjustment, mainly eating as little processed sugar as possible, and cutting carbs.  Sure, cookies taste better than broccoli, but what are the long term affects of poor diet decisions over a lifetime?  According to the National Council on Aging, 80% of adults 65 or older have at least one chronic condition, and 68% have two or more.  That is a huge number.  Of the ten listed, hypertension is the leader with 58%.  How does hypertension occur?  According to the CDC, “High blood pressure usually develops over time. It can happen because of unhealthy lifestyle choices, such as not getting enough regular physical activity. Certain health conditions, such as diabetes and having obesity, can also increase the risk for developing high blood pressure.”  According to Data Commons, Americans are living on average nearly ten years longer than we were in 1960.  Putting the same emphasis on our medical future as we do on our financial future should be a top priority.  As we age, our bodies do not heal as quickly, and we become more susceptible to illness.  Quality of life for elderly individuals should be a consideration of every medical insurance company, but at the very least on the bill introduction in the legislative branch.  In my opinion, rationing healthcare should not even be a thought in any politician’s mind.  I will not go down a political rabbit hole, but we waste A LOT of tax money, the least we can do is take care of our elderly population after they have paid taxes their entire lives.  I continually stress that a large part of Public Health is, or should be, education.  Education does not stop after completion of grade school or college; measures should be taken in the work force as well.  Any time an employer or supervisor asks what I would change about a company/agency, there are at a minimum two things: humanity (seeing your employee as a person with a life outside of work) and health (encouraging healthy habits such as diet and exercise).  Investment in ourselves is more than financial, it is the quality of our life.