DISCUSSION 11 Death and Dying
OVERVIEW
We know that death is inevitable, yet we cannot know for certain how or when our lives will end. Sometimes, complex issues can arise towards the end of life. Nowadays, there are medical technologies and drugs that can prolong life as well as technologies and drugs that can hasten death. One ethical question that arises is when and how these technologies should be used.
In this discussion forum, you will have the opportunity to share your thoughts on the ethics of physician-assisted suicide. Physician-assisted suicide is defined as “the voluntary termination of one’s own life by administration of a lethal substance with the direct or indirect assistance of a physician. Physician-assisted suicide is the practice of providing a competent patient with a prescription for medication for the patient to use with the primary intention of ending his or her own life†(MedicineNet.com).
Before beginning the discussion, read the following section in your textbook:
Death and Dying / Facing Death / 3. Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide
In addition, find an authoritative online source that presents an argument and/or scientific information on the issue.
INITIAL POST
In your Initial Post, address each of the following sets of questions, in a paragraph for each.
Should physicians be legally allowed to assist terminally ill patients die, if the patient makes the request?
Should physicians be legally allowed to prescribe medications to terminally ill patients that the physicians know will hasten the patient’s death?
Apply specific ideas or information from the sources provided in these instructions or other authoritative online sources that you found. First quote the relevant passages from your source and provide an in-text citation. Then paraphrase the ideas (put them in your own words) and discuss how the ideas relate to the issue. Click on the file below for information on how to find high-quality online sources and how to format citations in discussion posts.
Evaluating and Citing Online Sources.html
REPLIES
Read your classmates’ posts and select two Initial Posts to respond to. Select posts that present ideas and experiences that are different from your own, since this provides the greatest opportunity for you to develop your own thinking. In your replies, include the following:
- a quote of the specific statement you are responding to
- a paraphrasing of the statement to communicate to your classmate how you interpreted it
- an explanation of how your thinking on the issue is different from your classmate’s thinking
- a question that asks your classmate to elaborate upon some aspect of their thinking
Each reply should be at least 200 words in length. When asking your question, consider what aspect of thinking your question is targeting. Your question could be about any of the following standards:
"96% of our customers have reported a 90% and above score. You might want to place an order with us."
