Image via Wikipedia

New Zealand starvation case raises ethicacy issues - your opinion readers.




Phillipa Malpas, Auck Univ, says care home staff face ethical dilemma with Margaret Page's decision to starve herself to death



The actions of medical staff at Wellington's St John of God Hospital in allowing a woman to starve herself to death, are raising questions of medical ethicacy.



Margaret Page is disabled and terminally ill after suffering a cerebral haemorrhage 20 years ago. She has been living at the St John of God care home since 2006 and has not eaten for 11 days and has drunk only a small amount of water, because she no longer wants to live. Her separated husband has urged staff to force feed her, but the care home says it is her right to decide her fate. Three psychiatric assessments have found the 60-year-old is capable of making her own decisions.



Dr Malpas says it is a difficult situation.



"One of the principles that would come to mind would be the principle of do no harm and I guess you could ask the question, well, is it harmful in this situation to force her to eat? Is it harmful to allow her to do this?"



However, Dr Malpas says the law is very clear.



"Nobody who is competent can be forced to eat and drink or accept any medical treatment that they don't want even if that will end up hastening their death."



Dr Malpas says a competent person who forces another to eat or drink could be prosecuted for criminal assault, however an argument could be made that failing to force feed Mrs Page is assisting her suicide.



Ms Malpas says the ethical dilemma for staff in such situations is secondary to their obligations to the patient's will.



But aren't health professionals bound to take all care to ensure she is kept in the best of health? Do doctors till swear a hippocratical oath to do EVERYTHING in their power to ensure the woman's health?



Acknowledgements:

© 2010 NZCity, NewsTalkZB

Related articles by Zemanta

• Death with Dignity: one year later (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Dutch plan to let healthy elderly people commit suicide (teabreak.pk)
• Scott Mendelson, M.D.: It Is Time to Grant the Right to Die (huffingtonpost.com)
• Barbara Coombs Lee: An all-too-common tragedy and a small triumph. (huffingtonpost.com)
• The Cost of Dying (fdtate.blogspot.com)
• Mayo Clinic Researchers Find Younger, More Diverse Patients Having Total Knee Replacements (eon.businesswire.com)
• Home palliative sedation checklist may ease concerns (scienceblog.com)