Whose Life Is It Anyway? is a United States of America drama movie featuring Richard Dreyfuss and produced by John Badham in 1981. The dilemma in the selected movie can be described by the fact that the main character attempts to obtain the right to end his life due to serious complications that make ordinary living impossible. The ethical issue depicted in the film is related to the term “euthanasia,” which is the deliberate termination of a person’s life in order to relieve pain and distress. Concerning the ethical decision-making model to be used to work through, it is feasible to propose the analysis of the utilitarian approach for ethical decisions in nursing. Utilitarianism decision-making model can be applied to the case in the context of euthanasia, but should be accepted as general truth without potential alternatives.
After a vehicle accident, artist Ken Harrison gets paralyzed in the movie and becomes immobile. He wants to terminate his life since he can no longer continue any of his interests and will most certainly require medical assistance for the entire life. It is not possible for him to attempt suicide due to his physical limitations, so he seeks to end his existence in methods that would necessitate his body to be released from the hospital. He approaches Dr. Emerson, the hospital executive, for this, but he rejects since he opposes euthanasia and is committed to keeping his patient alive, despite his desires. The movie’s culmination is a court trial that examines if an individual has the psychological, ethical, and legal right to terminate his personal life on his conditions. Thus, the initial ethical dilemma is connected to the question whether euthanasia is ethical or not.
Euthanasia is the act of stopping an individual’s life in order to alleviate their pain. The patient in issue is usually terminally sick or in excruciating pain and misery. Medical aid in dying, often referred to as euthanasia or mercy killing, is becoming more popular across the world (Pesut et al., 2020). This aspect highlights the necessity for nurses to consider the moral or ethical challenges that euthanasia raises for nursing profession. The significance of the nurse’s involvement, especially in coping with preliminary euthanasia demands, has been widely documented (Pesut et al., 2020). Concerning the specific nursing roles that were implemented in the film, it is feasible to emphasize nurse as caregiver, communicator, and advocate. In the middle of the night in the movie, the nurses wheeled the central character to the clinic cellar, where he was treated to a real reggae performance and marijuana. This example cannot be considered ethical and appropriate; nevertheless, the caregivers devoted their time and efforts solely to the main character and provided him with valuable support, playing the advocate role.
Highlighting nursing accountability and nurse as member of the nursing team and the interprofessional team, in the movie, the nurse was responsible for the major responsibilities related to the practice. At the same time, it is not possible to state that there was a nursing team or interprofessional team present. Patient-centered nursing has always been in the core of nursing theoretical and practical aspects (Ortiz, 2018). This focal emphasis allows nurses to design rules that may have an impact on the outcomes, ensuring that practice is compatible with a unique knowledge foundation (Ortiz, 2018). In the movie, patient-centered care is related to the fast advancement of modern medical life-support technologies. Some of the therapies provided by the nursing staff in the movie were unethical and not linked to nursing practice. At the same time, the patient-centered care is described by the attempts to make the life of the main character easier.
Utilitarianism is a moral principle that promotes activities that bring pleasure or happiness while opposing actions that bring misery or damage. Utilitarianism is a set of normative ethics that recommend activities that promote satisfaction and well-being for all people that are involved in an interaction or case (Vearrier & Henderson, 2021). Concerning the particular case of the movie, it is possible to propose the key notion of the theory. In fact, the theory states that every attempt should be made in order to provide possible benefit for a person. From the perspective of utilitarianism, the question of euthanasia can be described as the process that has a right for existence due to the initial wish of an individual. It is compulsory to note that utilitarianism, as an ethical decision-making model, cannot be applied as the general truth and universal solution. It can be discussed in terms of the right of a person to decide whether to continue life or terminate it.
To summarize, the central issue in the chosen film might be regarded as the main character’s quest to get the right to end his life owing to major obstacles that make normal living impossible. The film’s ethical concern is around the term “euthanasia,” which refers to the purposeful ending of a person’s life in order to relieve suffering and distress. It is possible to suggest the analysis of the utilitarian method for ethical judgments in nursing as an ethical decision-making model to work through.
References
Ortiz, M. R. (2018). Patient-centered care: Nursing knowledge and policy. Nursing Science Quarterly, 31(3), 291–295.
Pesut, B., Greig, M., Thorne, S., Storch, J., Burgess, M., Tishelman, C., Chambaere, K., & Janke, R. (2020). Nursing and euthanasia: A narrative review of the nursing ethics literature. Nursing Ethics, 27(1), 152-167.
Vearrier, L., & Henderson, C. M. (2021). Utilitarian principlism as a framework for crisis healthcare ethics. HEC Forum: An Interdisciplinary Journal on Hospitals’ Ethical and Legal Issues, 33(1-2), 45–60.