ethical discussion

Running head : ETHICAL DISCUSSION

Rights and Duties : A Medical Perspective

[Name of student]

[Institutional information]

RIGHTS AND DUTIES : A MEDICAL PERSPECTIVE

In the case of a 58-year-old African-American patient , the values in conflict are the right of the relatives of the patient to determine the course of his treatment and the duty of the doctors to uphold the welfare of the patient . The relatives of the patient demanded that treatment be continued . They also demanded that the patient should not be placed in hospice and should be given a DNR

or Do Not Resuscitate . On the other hand , the doctors are concerned that the patient is no longer capable of surviving the treatments which are causing him more harm than doing him any good . In essence , there is a conflict between the rights of the relatives of the patient and the duties of the doctors to their patient

The patient has been suffering from innumerable physical ailments Prior to that , the patient came in to the hospital for a below knee leg amputation . The patient also suffered from liver cirrhosis , end stage renal disease , stage 3 colon cancer , and uncontrolled diabetes . After the amputation , the patient developed pulmonary embolisms and was transferred to the ICU despite lacking health insurance . By that time he was already unconscious and intubated and , therefore , incapable of making decisions on his own . It rightfully follows that the right to determine the fate of the patient then rested on the patient 's relatives . Despite the...