You be the Judge – Do-Not-Resuscitate Orders for Suicidal Patients
Medical professionals encourage (or sometimes require) patients, terminally ill or not, to direct them – in an “advance directive” or “living will” – by stating whether they wish to have artificial life support should they be unable to survive on their own. The advance directive often includes a DNR or “do-not-resuscitate” order in which the patient specifies that no heroic life-support measures should be taken to prolong life with, for example, life-support machines. Medical professionals respect the conditions of the DNR when they must make life-and-death decisions. In contrast, when individuals who have psychological disorders and wish to end their lives embark upon the same plans as a medical patient with a life-threatening illness, clinicians treat them to prevent them from committing suicide. The treatment may include involuntary hospitalization.
Th
e obligation to respect end-of-life wishes may present an ethical-conflict for mental health professionals when treating suicidal individuals who complete a DNR stating that they do not wish to be given life support. The question is whether having a serious psychological disorder that is incapacitating, resistant to treatment, and debilitating is any different from having a similarly untreatable and painful medical illness.
You be the judge: Does the individual’s right to autonomy, respected with a DNR, differ in this type of case? Be sure to use academic sources and research articles to back up your opinion. Good arguments should also present the counter-argument, as well as how to defend against it. Your reflection should be between 3-5 pages, double-spaced, APA style (references and cover page not included in page count; no abstract needed).
The 4 pages of writing is separate from the title and citation page (ex: would be 6 in total)