Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Ethics - Essay Example Obligations as a Nurse Obligations to my profession and work as a nurse pertaining to this case include doing what is required to follow the government’s decision. As a nurse, it is no less than an ethical dilemma for me, where if I don’t follow the government’s decision, my status as a nurse is challenged and my job is at risk. On the other hand, if I follow the government’s decision and starve Terri to death, I have to fight against my own conscience as a human being, and I know this is a fight I am going to lose, and this may jeopardize my peace of life forever. Laws regarding Euthanasia Laws related to euthanasia vary from one country to another. Some countries consider euthanasia an illegitimate practice which is thus condemned, whereas other countries are more flexible and have specified certain conditions in which euthanasia can be given to a patient. There are also certain countries like Australia that had legalized euthanasia once but later change d the rule. â€Å"On 25 May 1995, the Northern Territory of Australia became the first place in the world to pass right to die legislation.  The Rights of the Terminally Ill Act  lasted 9 months before being overturned by the Australian Federal Parliament† (Exit International, 2012). Today, all territories and states of Australia deem euthanasia illegal. In the USA, there is a particular federal law related to assisted suicide or euthanasia. It is prohibited under general homicide laws in all the 50 states of the USA including the District of Columbia. Laws related to euthanasia are dealt with at the state level instead of the federal level in the USA. 36 states in the USA prohibit all kinds of assisted suicides, seven states in the USA prohibit them under common law, four states in the USA do not have specific laws related to euthanasia, whereas three states including Montana, Washington, and Oregon have rendered euthanasia legal (ProCon.org, n.d.). Stakeholders in the C ase The stakeholders in this scenario include the government, the people of America in general, Terri’s family in particular, and most importantly, Terri herself. Terri was starved to death upon the government’s decision without her or her family’s consent being involved in it. This did not only take Terri’s life, but also had traumatic effect on her family as well as all citizens of America who felt concerned for Terri and were disappointed by this decision of the government. The government is surely one of the stakeholders in this case since the decision making power is fundamentally assumed by the government and the decisions made by the government affect the lives of common people like Terri and her family. Summary of the Impacts Being a nurse is a big responsibility by all means. A nurse is essentially someone who assists people with activities meant to improve their health. The conventional image of a nurse is of a helping, caring, and loving indivi dual. Giving someone euthanasia is one of the extremely challenging tasks for a nurse since it fundamentally challenges the status of nurse as a caring individual and is also emotionally demanding. Our social and religious values guide us to take care of the well-being of all human beings, not some human beings. Euthanasia is against these social and religious values. How long a person lives is to be decided by God Almighty, not human beings. When humans take this decision in their own