Let’s say your significant other suffered a catastrophic accident. They are in the ICU on a ventilator and tests show no brain activity, besides some primitive brain stem function. You’ve had multiple opinions from different doctors and the consensus is they will be reliant on a ventilator and feeding tube until something (pneumonia or another cause of sepsis, probably) kills them with no hope of meaningful recovery. That may take weeks, months, or even years for natural causes to stop their heart and result in true death. They are young and don’t have a living will and never explicitly told you their wishes for a situation like this.
Despite insurance, it’s going to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep them going. Maybe even millions. Your entire life is going to change keeping them on that ventilator. Financially, emotionally, psychologically.
Should we, as a society, allow people to withdraw care? They still have a heart beat and are alive. Isn’t it murder to take the patient off the ventilator? Shouldn’t we not force the patient to remain alive as long as possible? Obviously we aren’t paying for it financially as a society. Or are there situations where “pulling the plug” is ok?
Despite insurance, it’s going to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep them going. Maybe even millions. Your entire life is going to change keeping them on that ventilator. Financially, emotionally, psychologically.
Should we, as a society, allow people to withdraw care? They still have a heart beat and are alive. Isn’t it murder to take the patient off the ventilator? Shouldn’t we not force the patient to remain alive as long as possible? Obviously we aren’t paying for it financially as a society. Or are there situations where “pulling the plug” is ok?
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