HEA 260 Medical Ethics
Academic Level at Time of Presentation
Freshmen
Major
Communication Disorders
Presentation Format
Event
Abstract/Description
The introduction to medical ethics course at Murray State University discussed ethical issues in our healthcare system providing insight on issues of practical and philosophical importance for the members of our society (Terry 2018). One of the ways communication occurs to the public is through the media. Students were to find medical ethics cases within the past 6-months to apply the material from the course to a media source of their choice. Analysis of the media source was constructed using a newspaper analysis methodology. In this article the topic addresses physician-assisted suicide regarding an older man, a scientist, who partook in the special drug so he would have control to end his life on “his own terms.” David Goodall had been a member of the right-to-die organization and was not terminally ill, but his health was going down-hill so rapidly that he couldn’t partake in any of his normal activities. Mr. Goodall had tried to make the decision to end his own life in Australia but due the ban on euthanasia and assisted suicide in Australia, he decided to go to Switzerland instead (Switzerland is the only country that offers assisted-dying services to foreigners as long as the person assisting with the suicide receives no benefits from it). On the Thursday of his death, he took the fatal dose of barbiturate through his veins by releasing the valve to administer the medicine himself (by swiss law a third party can’t be involved in the process) and he then fell asleep and passed away soon after. The theory of consequentialism is applied in this situation as Mr. Goodall made the best decision for all, as well as the principle of autonomy for which he had and used when making his choice to pass, and the concept of truth versus loyalty in which he didn’t allow himself to stray from the truth regarding his illness. This story can help someone understand medical ethics with showing how Mr. Goodall had to travel across the world to receive a medical procedure regarding the freedom of his own body. Stating the theories, principles, and concepts can help narrow down and pin-point the more specific aspects of the story regarding medical ethics and make it easier for someone to understand.
Fall Scholars Week 2018 Event
HEA 260: Medical Ethics in the Media
HEA 260 Medical Ethics
The introduction to medical ethics course at Murray State University discussed ethical issues in our healthcare system providing insight on issues of practical and philosophical importance for the members of our society (Terry 2018). One of the ways communication occurs to the public is through the media. Students were to find medical ethics cases within the past 6-months to apply the material from the course to a media source of their choice. Analysis of the media source was constructed using a newspaper analysis methodology. In this article the topic addresses physician-assisted suicide regarding an older man, a scientist, who partook in the special drug so he would have control to end his life on “his own terms.” David Goodall had been a member of the right-to-die organization and was not terminally ill, but his health was going down-hill so rapidly that he couldn’t partake in any of his normal activities. Mr. Goodall had tried to make the decision to end his own life in Australia but due the ban on euthanasia and assisted suicide in Australia, he decided to go to Switzerland instead (Switzerland is the only country that offers assisted-dying services to foreigners as long as the person assisting with the suicide receives no benefits from it). On the Thursday of his death, he took the fatal dose of barbiturate through his veins by releasing the valve to administer the medicine himself (by swiss law a third party can’t be involved in the process) and he then fell asleep and passed away soon after. The theory of consequentialism is applied in this situation as Mr. Goodall made the best decision for all, as well as the principle of autonomy for which he had and used when making his choice to pass, and the concept of truth versus loyalty in which he didn’t allow himself to stray from the truth regarding his illness. This story can help someone understand medical ethics with showing how Mr. Goodall had to travel across the world to receive a medical procedure regarding the freedom of his own body. Stating the theories, principles, and concepts can help narrow down and pin-point the more specific aspects of the story regarding medical ethics and make it easier for someone to understand.