I am focusing on the ethical issues regarding life support technology. The question that
is proposed is “whether life support should continue when a patient may simply exist in
a permanent vegetative state or whether life support should be discontinued, and if so,
at what point” (Shi, 2018). Currently, the decision whether to keep a patient on life
support or not is that of the family. There are miracles, but some of the time once on
life support, the odds are there is nothing more the doctors can do for the underlying
condition other than keeping them “alive” on life support. The debate for ethical debate
for life support point towards situations where it is clear there are no chances for
recovery and life support is only prolonging the dying process (Menard, LPN, n.d.).
Some argue that keeping some one alive without their consent is wrong while others say
that letting a patient die is morally wrong. It is up to the patients care team and family
to work together and decide what is best for the patient.
Menard, LPN, A. (n.d.). Life Support: Information and Ethics. The Official ACLS for
Healthcare Providers in US & Canada. Retrieved April 21, 2022, from
https://www.acls.net/information-and-ethics
Shi, L. (2018). Essentials of the U.S. Health Care System (5th Edition). Jones & Bartlett
Learning. https://wileyplus.vitalsource.com/books/9781284174144
