Moral Theology of Health Care

Bioethics is a recently coined word. It comes from bio which kernel feel history and from ethics which is lessonity. Bioethics is that branch of Ethics which deals directly with the problems of intent and dying, of wellness and of healing. It focuses aid to the need for a healthier world in accordance with the dictates of reason.As a health c be provider, they are face with many ethical let ons leftfield and even out. These issues some convictions question our integrity as servicemans with compassion and touch for others. They say that health cope providers are sometimes called an accomplice whenever they prevail d superstar an un impartialityful thing which is not legal for their chosen profession. venerate for mortals, justice, and beneficence, autonomy has been a major workhorse in bioethical analysis over the sometime(prenominal) several decades.First, let us discuss the evaluate for souls, justice, beneficence and autonomy. This entails the dignity that we ha ve as human cosmoss. That as human, we have e precise right to do things and that we should be respected for it. We should respect individuals as well as their livelys. As a health care provider, it is our duty to stay fresh feeling and not to destroy it. Health care providers often deal with scathing situations where human wound up state us at stake, both in the club and in particular health settings. Thus, it is very important that they understand and respect the sanctitude of human brio. During much(prenominal) situations they whitethorn be crowdd to mold whether or not to perform clinical procedures to preserve health and render the lives of people in a community.Abortion, we all know that Life is precious. It is our main concern and duty. Health is our personal responsibility. This requires that we adopt a style of life that fosters health. We owe it to our family and society to be healthy. The cost of health care is befitting expensive everyday. It is a crime of gross injustice when, because of our reckless habits, we force our family to suffer financial losses and indebtedness.But do we really care close the life which idol has bestowed in us? Yes, certainly we do exclusively there are some women choose to abort the life that is in them for some irrefutable reasons. Many agree to abortion depends to the circumstances further how about the women who just do not want to have kids? Is it fair(a) that they just abort the life because they want to avoid responsibilities? Absolutely, not pitying life is sacred because conception, from the beginning, already involves the creative action of God.As human beings, we stop forever in a special relationship with the Creator. Human life is endowed with majesty and dignity which call forth for an equally honour response. We owe human life respect and reverence. Such reverence, respect, and concern for life is a charge of saying yes to Gods concern for human life in all its forms. In this comp lex world that we live in today, abortion and contraception are two of the most hotly- debated issues. They come in a serious moral challenge particularly to medical practitioners and health service providers who are supposed to preserve and protect human life.Thus a thorough understanding of these issues is necessary to arrive at logical and moral solutions. Still the fact sticks that neither abortion nor contraception are desirable in human society. Their prevention should be a divided up task that rises above the debates on the morality of abortion or contraception. The sanctity of human life demands that it essential be respected and protected utterly from the moment of a conception. From the first moment of her existence, a human being already possesses the rights of a person and that as health care providers we should big(p)ly respect, among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being.This alienable right must be recognized and respected by civil society, politi cal role and health care professionals. Abortion destroys life and violates the right to life. As such it is chastely evil and it should not be in any way legalized and liberally permitted in the fair plays and constitution of the nation as well as in the ethics of the health care professionals.Euthanasia is one of the most problematical issues of our society today. Many disagree with this practice but others say that it is the only when way of ending the agony of the uncomplaining. So if this issue is still argued, in what circumstance it get downs right? Euthanasia is the killing, for reasons of mercy, of a person who is suffering from an incurable illness or hopeless injury. Euthanasia is an superannuated concept that has in the medieval been an acceptable practice in certain societies for example, in ancient Greece. In modern times, however, mercy killing is generally con side of meatred murder by the law and too is most of the worlds organized religions.Passive, or n egative, mercy killing does not involve the act of killing. It consists of the withdrawal of, or the deliberate bankruptcy to initiate, life-sustaining treatment in hopeless initiate, life-sustaining treatment in hopeless cases. Instead of being kept alive for days or weeks through various kinds of machines and drugs, the persevering is simply allowed to ruin.Moreover, euthanasia derives from the Greek dustup Eu which means good and Thanatos which means dying. It etymologically signifies good health, a pleasant and gentle close without awful suffering. Euthanasia may be defined as an action or omission that by its very nature, or in the intention, causes death, for the purpose of eliminating whatever put out.Furthermore, the issue of death has become more complicated than it is used to be because of ethical conflict. The moral issue of euthanasia revolves around the preservation of human dignity in death even to the individuals at last breath. This issue has both its overco nfident and negative sides.The corroboratory argument states that euthanasia aims to preserve human dignity until death. Not only does one have a duty to preserve life but one also has the right to die with dignity. To die with dignity means that one should be better than to go on living with an incurable and distressing sickness.The negative argument, on the other hand, declares that euthanasia erodes human dignity because it means cowardliness in the face of pain and suffering. People who have faced the realities of life with courage die with dignity.Whereas the positive side insists that mercy killing preserves human dignity, the negative side claims the opposite since the act hastens the death of an individual. Furthermore, others consider euthanasia to be morally wrong because it is intentional killing which opposes the natural moral law or the natural inclination to preserve life. They even argue that euthanasia may be performed for self-interest or other consequences. Also, doctors and other health care professionals may be tempted not to do their best to save the patient. They may asylum not to do their best to save the patient. They may resort to euthanasia as an easy way out and simply leave out any other alternatives.Physician assist suicide is the type of suicide assisted by a medico. The physician prescribes or administers a drug that could take up the patient to death. One way to distinguish between euthanasia and assisted suicide is to look at the last act, the act by which death occurred.Using this distinction, if a third party performed the last act that intentionally caused a patients death, euthanasia occurred. For example, giving a patient a lethal injection or pulling a plastic ravisher over her head to suffocate her would be considered euthanasia.On the other hand, if the person who died performed the last act, assisted suicide took place. Thus it is assisted suicide if a person swallowed an overdose of drugs provided by a doctor f or the purpose of casing death. It is also assisted suicide if a patient pushed a switch to initiate a fatal injection after the doctor inserted an intravenous chivvy into the patients vein. A lot of people think that assisted suicide is needed so patients will not be constrained to remain alive by being hooked up to machines. in that location are laws that permit patients or their surrogates to withhold or withdraw undesired medical treatment even if that increases the likelihood that the patient will die. Thus, no one needs to be hooked up to machines against his or her will.Neither the law nor the medical ethics requires that everything be done to keep a person alive. Insistence, against the patients whishes, that death be postponed by every means available is contrary to law and practice. It is also cruel and inhuman.There comes a time when continued attempts to cure are no longer compassionate, wise or medically wound. On such situations, hospice, including in- home hospice care, can be of great help. That is the time when all efforts should be directed at making the patients remaining time comfortable. Then, all interventions should be directed to the substitute of pain and other symptoms as well as to the provision of emotional and spiritual support for both the patient and the patients love ones.Medicine is at the service of life. Since the beginning medical practitioners have struggled to conserve health, free suffering and as much as they can, prolong life. Nobody escapes death, as death as inevitable. It is a fearful reality. However, acceptance of death would possibly be easier and more meaningful if one lives life to the fullest and strive to fertilise meaning to his/ her existence.Today, the span of human life has considerably lengthened than during the past decades, thanks to significant achievements in the medical field. However, life will remain a journey and man will continue his pilgrimage towards his final exam destiny. Surely, man will reach a point when neither the physician nor modern medicine can do more for him. As one poet states It is sheer madness of a man to cling to his life when God wills that he die. Nurses play a vital role in a patients struggle against illness. Are nurses allowed to cut the thread of life when the weight of pain, suffering and hopelessness has become too heavy for the patient to bear? Can we plan for our death, just as we plan for our coming(prenominal)?While health providers strive to render the best care for patients, situations mug up when the patients themselves demand for assistance to have their lives ended. During such situations, health care providers and medical practitioners are expected to act morally and justify their stand.ReferenceDrane, James F. clinical Bioethics. Kansas City Sheed & Ward, 1994. Higgins, Gregory C. Where do you stand? New Jersey Paulist Press, 1995. Hughes, Gerald J. Authority in Morals. London Heythrop Monographs, 1978. Kippley, John & Sheila Kippley. The Art of Natural Family Planning. Cincinnati The Couple of Couple group discussion International, Inc. 1975..