Case Twenty-Three: The Nurse's Role In Aid-In-Dying

As the debate over aid-in-dying (AID) develops nurses must consider what their role in the process will be. The decision about their involvement in AID must be based on the moral obligations that they feel they are responsible to adhere to. The question that has to be considered is whether it is morally acceptable for nurses to be directly involved in the aid-in-dying of their terminally ill patients. In the article “Case Twenty-Three: A Fevered Hand on the Cooling Brow- The Nurse’s Role in Aid-in-Dying” the authors Peggy Connolly, David R. Keller, Martin G. Leever, and Becky Cox White, explore this topic through the deontology theory of Kant. Kant is the most effective in finding a morally acceptable solution to the question of whether or
According to the article, in a survey, of the physicians who agreed to an AID request from patients, one-third asked to have the euthanasia administered by their nurse (Connolly, Keller, Leever, and White, p. 313). The article argues against the four moral objections that The American Nurses’ Association has about nurses’ involvement in AID. The American Nurses’ Association beliefs that nurses have a duty to “do no harm,” a social obligation that is based on trust, the capability to deny patient and family wishes in order to satisfy the moral obligations of the profession, and lastly that abuse is possible when defenseless patients are involved (Connolly et al., p.
Thus, not meeting the standard of “do no harm” in a scenario where a patient is terminally ill and suffering. Next, the issue of trust is addressed by the article. According to the text patients’ trust in their physician would not likely change by the physician’s involvement in AID. Although it is uncertain if patients would reflect the same feelings towards nurses, the authors believe that patients who are terminally ill and out of options would likely support AID by nurse (Connolly et at., p. 315). The issue of professional integrity is mentioned by recognizing that values change and once controversial procedures are now routinely provided because they are significant to the well-being of the patient. Connolly and others agree that For some patients, life cannot be saved, health cannot be promoted and disease cannot be prevented or cured. But relief of pain and suffering is still within the nurse’s power. When patients elect early death and the only professional value that still can be promoted is relief of pain or suffering, AID is compatible with professional integrity (as cited in White