Provide a 1,500-2,000-word ethical analysis while answering the following questions: How would George interpret his suffering in light of the Christian narrative, with an emphasis on the fallenness of the world? Case Study on Death and Dying. How would George interpret his suffering in light of the Christian narrative, with an emphasis on the hope of resurrection?

Case Study: End of Life Decisions

George is a successful attorney in his mid-fifties. He is also a legal scholar, holding a teaching post at the local university law school in Oregon. George is also actively involved in his teenage son’s basketball league, coaching regularly for their team. Recently, George has experienced muscle weakness and unresponsive muscle coordination. He was forced to seek medical attention after he fell and injured his hip. After an examination at the local hospital following his fall, the attending physician suspected that George may be showing early symptoms for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a degenerative disease affecting the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. The week following the initial examination, further testing revealed a positive diagnosis of ALS Case Study on Death and Dying.

ALS is progressive and gradually causes motor neuron deterioration and muscle atrophy to the point of complete muscle control loss. There is currently no cure for ALS, and the median life expectancy is between 3 and 4 years, though it is not uncommon for some to live 10 or more years. The progressive muscle atrophy and deterioration of motor neurons leads to the loss of the ability to speak, move, eat, and breathe. However, sight, touch, hearing, taste, and smell are not affected. Patients will be wheelchair bound and eventually need permanent ventilator support to assist with breathing.

George and his family are devastated by the diagnosis. George knows that treatment options only attempt to slow down the degeneration, but the symptoms will eventually come. He will eventually be wheelchair bound and be unable to move, eat, speak, or even breathe on his own.

In contemplating his future life with ALS, George begins to dread the prospect of losing his mobility and even speech. He imagines his life in complete dependence upon others for basic everyday functions and perceives the possibility of eventually degenerating to the point at which he is a prisoner in his own body. Would he be willing to undergo such torture, such loss of his own dignity and power? George thus begins inquiring about the possibility of voluntary euthanasia. Case Study on Death and Dying.

PHI-413V Topic 4 Overview

Death, Dying, and Grief

Introduction

Death and dying are a bitter part of the reality of life, in general, and a particularly common experience for those called to health care. The nature and meaning of death is not simply biological or scientific, but rather involves deep philosophical and religious questions. Once again, medical technology has changed the scope, quality, and experience of death (or at least the dying process). It has even prompted a changing of the very definition of death.

Death in the 21st Century

One of the incredible benefits of modern science and its application in medical technology has been the ability to extend physiological life. Case Study on Death and Dying. In the 1960s, the development of CPR, ventilators, and the like allowed never-before-seen intervention in the process of dying, such that a “millennia-old general understanding of what it meant to be dead” was transformed (Veatch, Haddad, & English, 2010, pp. 390-391). In the field of biomedical ethics, the very definition of what it means to be dead is a controversial topic. In continuing with a fundamental theme running throughout this course, it should be noted that while the pathophysiological and scientifically detectable signs of death are crucial in this debate, they should not be taken to be determinative or comprehensive. This debate still crucially depends on the philosophical background of one’s anthropology (i.e., view of personhood) and in the resulting interpretation of these scientific and physiological signs. The medical definition of death is not a purely or irreducibly scientific question. Case Study on Death and Dying.

Worldview and the Meaning of Death

Two of the more controversial issues in bioethics are euthanasia and physician- assisted suicide. As you read and research the ethics surrounding these issues, consider how the Christian worldview would analyze the ethics of such actions. On a worldview level, the question of the medical definition of death is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the broader significance and ultimate meaning of death. Whether or not there is any meaning to death and what it might be is a question of one’s worldview. Questions regarding whether or not there will be ultimate moral accountability for the way one lived life and whether there is an afterlife are key questions in this regard. The very phenomenon of the loss of (at the very least) physiological and perhaps conscious integrity and activity is a fact of life that calls for explanation.

Once again, an ac