Global Bioethics Euthanasia

Conscience is the guardian in the individual of the rules which the community has evolved for its own preservation.

IDENTIFICATION OF GLOBAL ETHICAL ISSUE IN HEALTHCARE

In Ethics and Issues in Contemporary Nursing, Burkhardt and Nathaniel (1998) argue that: "...the cosmology of a culture indirectly determines specific beliefs about the origin of disease and healing. Cosmology...describes the structure, origin, and processes of the universe and includes beliefs about the gods of the culture. The nature of the gods worshipped in any culture directly affects prevailing health beliefs" (6). The same is true whether we are discussing ancient cultures or contemporary ones when we look at the complex global issue of euthanasia.

Cosmology is perhaps most important with respect to bioethical issues like euthanasia. This is because religious philosophy typically underlies different culture's perspectives on euthanasia. In the fractured, individualistic U.S. culture where religious differences abound, some states have legalized euthanasia while others have criminalized the practice. Globally we see similar distinctions with countries like Colombia who have legalized euthanasia and those such as Australia who have recently recriminalized the practice. Globalization has spread democratic principles and erased borders but it has also spread new ethical values in the wake of commerce and industrialization. As Larue (2002) argu

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argues: "Good ethics has been described as beginning where the law ends. The moral conscience is the precursor to the development of legal rules for social order. Law and medical ethics thus share the goal of creating and maintaining social good and have a symbiotic relationship" (2). Such a three dimensional model of ethics is perfectly suited to global euthanasia decisions because of the complex issues involved on a global scale. For example, many faith groups within Christian, Muslim, Jewish and other religions argue that God gives a life and is the only One who can take it away. For others, some who wish to die may only desire death because of clinical depression which makes the legal requirement "of sound mind" a very significant consideration. With respect to patient autonomy, some terminally ill patients are in intractable pain or suffer from intolerably poor quality of life. Should the law or religion have a right to deny them a wish for euthanasia? POSITION STATEMENT A patient's right to euthanasia is justified based on the conceptual model of law and ethics because it encompasses consideration of a variety of ethical issues that arise when facing the decision to assist in ending a patient's life. For example, b

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