Instructions: Consider the case below. Then, in about one page do three things:
1) Clearly state the ethical question that you think arises in the case;
2) Propose an ethically reasonable course of action;
3) Using some ethical theory (or value-based set of ethical tools) that we’ve studied this semester, justify the course of action that you propose.
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The Case:
A woman was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) five years ago. This is a condition that destroys motor nerves, making control of movement impossible, while the mind is virtually unaffected. People with MND normally die within four years of diagnosis from suffocation due to the inability of the inspiratory muscles to contract. The woman’s condition has steadily declined. She is not expected to live through the month, and she is worried about the pain that she will face in her final hours. She asks her doctor to give her diamorphine for pain if she begins to suffocate or choke. This will lessen her pain, but it will also hasten her death. About a week later, she falls very ill, and is having trouble breathing.
How should the doctor ethically proceed?
[Case provided by the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics]