Consider one of the following cases Karen Quinlan Terri Schi

Consider one of the following cases: Karen Quinlan, Terri Schiavo, or Jack Kevorkian or another prominent case about euthanasia, then respond to the following questions on the discussion board:

In the case you selected describe and define the type of euthanasia that was practiced.

What are the consequentialist and nonconsequentialist considerations of the right to die in the case you selected?

How did learning about this case impact you and your opinion about the right to die?

Solution

Case selected: Karen Ann Quinlan

In the case you selected describe and define the type of euthanasia that was practiced.

Karen Ann Quinlan crashed into a coma after consuming alcohol and diazepam in a friend`s party, she was found unconscious and taken to the nearest hospital and started a persistent vegetative state. Her parents told the doctor to disconnect the respirator because it was prolonging pain to Karen, the court first denied their request but on 1976 the court granted Karen`s parents their appeal.

The surprise was that Karen keep breathing on her own without the help on the machine and she was feed by artificial nutrition for almost 10 years.

Finally Karen died of respiration failures on 1985.

What are the consequentialist and nonconsequentialist considerations of the right to die in the case you selected?

The consideration were that according to Karen`s parents she was only experiencing pain on her vegetative state and they wanted her to stop suffering. She couldn’t communicate what she wanted so their parents made the decision for her. The doctors refused the petition because it was illegal for them to stop the life of Karen without an order of the Supreme Court

How did learning about this case impact you and your opinion about the right to die?

I had the opportunity to read about euthanasia and according to most textbooks euthanasia is the act of ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering, according to the parents of Karen this is exactly what her daughter was experiencing, she wasn’t living a quality life.

This is a very sensitive subject, and many religions can have different opinions but I personally believe that men should not have to authority to take the life of a person as long as his hear is beating.