Film Response – Jim Witcher

Film Response – Jim Witcher

This assignment will focus on the Jim Witcher from the assigned film. Jim had Lou Gehrig’s disease, also known as ALS, a neurological disease that causes nerves to break down progressively, leading to paralysis (Perez, 2009a). This paralysis starts in parts of the body and gradually spreads to other parts, eventually leading to full paralysis of all body parts. Due to the nature of the disease, Jim chose active voluntary euthanasia, which is essentially when competent patients voluntarily request or consent to be euthanized when an illness overwhelms them (Vaughn, 2013). In my perspective, physician-assisted death is a form of euthanasia because it is also voluntarily or consented to by the patient, and the physician only prescribes the lethal medication to be taken.

Jiim’s wishes were to administer the euthanizing dosage himself because no one else could do it, mostly because the law forbade this action, and it would be taken as murder. However, Jim’s body was too ill for him to administer the dosage himself, as he could not even move his hands. This made the situation difficult and impossible for him. Eventually, Jim decided to stop eating and taking his medication, which eventually led to his death (Perez, 2009b).

I support the choice that Jim made to undergo euthanasia. I believe that he had the legal right to do what he wanted, whether it was to receive medication for a terminal illness or choose another way that made the situation easier and less painful for himself and those around him. Every patient has what is referred to as patient autonomy, which is essentially the right of competent adults to make informed choices in regard to their medical care. Patients, especially those who have terminal illnesses, have the right to choose how they want to spend their last days. In addition, euthanasia can be considered a kindness to those suffering from illness, like in Jim’s instance, whose body was failing, and if he continued with his medication, he would have eventually died from choking or starving when his neck muscles degenerated.

References

Perez, S. (2009a, June 19). DEP3054 death Jim p1 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMRUEPMMzM4&list=PLuMeS3Yi6iIl8TYbiR0RhesRAHKOHsMbN&index=1

Perez, S. (2009b, June 19). DEP3054 death howtheydied [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFCFiI80d24&list=PLuMeS3Yi6iIl8TYbiR0RhesRAHKOHsMbN&index=8

Vaughn, L. (2013). Bioethics: Principles, issues, and cases. New York: Oxford University Press.

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A Death of One’s Own(movie) and Bioethics book(chapter 10 Euthanasia and Physician-assisted Suicide)
No citation is needed!! Or another source other than the movie and chapter 10 of the book Bioethics.

Summative Paper 2
Film Response,
Watch “A Death of One’s Own” through Films on Demand on the library website. The link for this film can be found in our class website announcement. Pick one of the three people in the film to focus on for this assignment. Then answer the following questions in 1-1.5 pages double-spaced.
1. Describe the original wishes of the person you choose to discuss. Would these first wishes be described as passive or active euthanasia, voluntary or nonvoluntary euthanasia, euthanasia in your view at all or maybe just physician assisted death/other (Is PAD a form of euthanasia in your view?)? Explain your reasoning. Address all of these possibilities.
2. Describe the way the person did, in fact, end up dying. Address the same distinctions here. Would their death be described as passive or active euthanasia, voluntary or nonvoluntary euthanasia, euthanasia in your view or maybe just physician assisted death/other (Is PAD a form of euthanasia in your view?)? Explain your reasoning.
3. Would you support the right to choose as this person wished in this situation? That is, do you think this person should have a legal right to make such a choice according to his/her desires in the situation? (Remember that this is not the same as asking if you agree with the person’s wish or choice.) Explain your reasoning about whether or not someone should have a legal right to make such a choice.