ethics
So I was watching this ethics panel-debate. (http://www.learner.org/resources/series81.html?pop=yes&pid=191) It's put on by PBS or something educational like that.
One of the scenarios was that this woman with Alzheimer's says that when she gets bad that she doesn't want ANY tubes. Eventually she gets much worse and has a stroke making her unable to speak and swallow. She now needs a tube, solely to get food into her stomach, but she can still interact with animals a little. As the husband, what do you do?
Everyone gave some really good answers. But something occurred to me; This woman is not the same woman that said she didn't want tubes. In essence the person that existed before has ceased to exist. Objectively, I don't think those two people, the person before and after, are the same people. I see it almost as two separate entities, so how can one entity express their wishes upon another.
One of the scenarios was that this woman with Alzheimer's says that when she gets bad that she doesn't want ANY tubes. Eventually she gets much worse and has a stroke making her unable to speak and swallow. She now needs a tube, solely to get food into her stomach, but she can still interact with animals a little. As the husband, what do you do?
Everyone gave some really good answers. But something occurred to me; This woman is not the same woman that said she didn't want tubes. In essence the person that existed before has ceased to exist. Objectively, I don't think those two people, the person before and after, are the same people. I see it almost as two separate entities, so how can one entity express their wishes upon another.