The Nancy Cruzan Case, Essay Example

History of Case Study

The Nancy Cruzan case is instigated a public debate on the issue about the right to die. Nancy Cruzan control of her car and accidentaly ran into a ditch. The fatal accident that happened in the year of 1983, January 11 subsequently left her incompetent and unresponsive. She was 26 years at this time. A few years later following her continued condition with no signs psychological recovery, this topic was brought to the public attention. This happened prior to a trial court ruling that argued the case on the issue of withdrawing life support from the patient.

The key players in this court case decision were Nancy Cruzan’s parents and guardians, the Supreme Court of Missouri, the public, and the director Missouri healthcare department. The dilemma presented, in this case, questioned the controversy about life-and-death issue and who had the authority to decide a person’s life continuity. This court case was argued in the period of December 6, 1989. In this case study, the parents and Nancy Cruzan’s guardian wanted the hospital to withdraw life support, but the hospital directive refused mandating that they had to get approval from the court (Kastenbaum, p. 281).

Ethical Issues Presented in the Case

The ethical questions that were brought about by this court case example expressed substantial uncertainty in the US National Constitution. In this given scenario, the moral or ethical questions brought up included:

1. The Supreme Court of Missouri made the decision that it required sufficient evidence showing that Nancy (an incompetent individual at that time) had the wish to withdraw the life-sustaining treatment. The court stated that only Nancy Cruzan had a fundamental right to decide whether to refuse or accept the withdrawal from life support procedures.
2. The other moral issue that is brought about by the court’s decision was whether it was right to dismiss the views and resolutions of the close family members regarding the patient. Even after establishing that Nancy Cruzan had indicated a close friend her intent of not wanting to continue with her life, the State of Missouri Court still mandated for additional substantial proof (Kastenbaum, p. 281).
3. The thrid ethical issue identified in the case of Nancy Cruzan was that she had not previously prepared or wrote a living will and testament, or any alternative document that would otherwise act as an advance health care directive. The obvious question one can contemplate is how many people as young as Nacny have any form of written advance directive. Therefore, even after the six years the court had a still had predicament of whether to accept withdrawal from treatment.

The ethical issues identified above complicated the progress of the case by prolonging the inevitable. The Missouri State Court emphasized that the patient was not dead, terminally ill, and the fact that Health professionals affirmed that she could live for an additional thirty years, did not provide enough ground for treatment termination. The undeniable fact was that she was in a state of no improvement for over six years after her accident. The prolonged and delayed court’s decision during the trial was facilitated by the lack of a previously prepared advance health care directive by the patient. The consistent opposition by the healthcare department to withdraw treatment until they get court approval was also a decisive factor (Kastenbaum, p. 280).

Theory Applicable to the Case

The theory applicable, in this case, is majorly the theory of humanism and morality. The common conception or perception that was noticeable from the case of Nancy Cruzan was that all through her treatment she showed no sign of discomfort in any way. Therefore, since the judges did not have sufficient evidence on the issue, they could not recommend what the parents of the young patient desired. The moral issue of life-and-death, in this case, was whether to withdraw the life support or let it continue (Kastenbaum, p. 275).

The medical practitioner established that the patient would not go on to experience a full life even if the hospital were to continue with the life support treatment. May be the treatment was prolonged due to the problem of the perceived social value can be associated with this case given that the patient was of a young age. This case can be contrasted to that of a sixty-four-year-old lady in Pennsylvania who was incapacitated or incompetent and her life was ended peacefully at an earlier time without the extended suffering.

Recommendation on this Case

The suggestion one would come up with for this medical case predicament, from a social worker’s view would entail determining the facts on when families have the right to making a decision that causes the death of an incapacitated or incompetent loved one. The advice any sane person would give to the doctors, family or even patient following the prolonged suffering witnessed would be to withdraw the life support (Devettere, p. 332). The State Department and healthcare doctors would have initially considered the patient’s current state, determine and diagnose the foreseen future condition. Decisively establishing the emotional and economic viability while asserting ahead of time what the patient’s intentions would be can significantly help in making substituted judgment or decisions in such a dilemma.

Work Cited

Kastenbaum, Robert. Death, Society, and Human Experience. Boston, Mass: Pearson, 2012. Print.

Devettere, Raymond J. Practical Decision Making in Health Care Ethics: Cases and Concepts. Washington: Georgetown University Press, 2009. Print.