Case Study: End of Life Decisions George is a successful attorney in his mid-fifties. He is also a legal scholar, holding a teaching post at the local university law school in Oregon. George is also actively involved in his teenage son’s basketball league, coaching regularly for their team. Recently, George has experienced muscle weakness and unresponsive muscle coordination.

Case Study: End of Life Decisions

George is a successful attorney in his mid-fifties. He is also a legal scholar, holding a teaching post at the local university law school in Oregon. George is also actively involved in his teenage son’s basketball league, coaching regularly for their team. Recently, George has experienced muscle weakness and unresponsive muscle coordination.

He was forced to seek medical attention after he fell and injured his hip. After an examination at the local hospital following his fall, the attending physician suspected that George may be showing early symptoms for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a degenerative disease affecting the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. The week following the initial examination, further testing revealed a positive diagnosis of ALS.

ALS is progressive and gradually causes motor neuron deterioration and muscle atrophy to the point of complete muscle control loss. There is currently no cure for ALS, and the median life expectancy is between 3 and 4 years, though it is not uncommon for some to live 10 or more years. The progressive muscle atrophy and deterioration of motor neurons leads to the loss of the ability to speak, move, eat, and breathe.

However, sight, touch, hearing, taste, and smell are not affected. Patients will be wheelchair bound and eventually need permanent ventilator support to assist with breathing.

George and his family are devastated by the diagnosis. George knows that treatment options only attempt to slow down the degeneration, but the symptoms will eventually come. He will eventually be wheelchair bound and be unable to move, eat, speak, or even breathe on his own.

In contemplating his future life with ALS, George begins to dread the prospect of losing his mobility and even speech. He imagines his life in complete dependence upon others for basic everyday functions and perceives the possibility of eventually degenerating to the point at which he is a prisoner in his own body.

Would he be willing to undergo such torture, such loss of his own dignity and power? George thus begins inquiring about the possibility of voluntary euthanasia.

Assignment:

The practice of health care providers at all levels brings you into contact with people from a variety of faiths. This calls for knowledge and understanding of a diversity of faith expressions; for the purpose of this course, the focus will be on the Christian worldview.

Based on “Case Study: End of Life Decisions,” the Christian worldview, and the worldview questions presented in the required topic study materials you will complete an ethical analysis of George’s situation and his decision from the perspective of the Christian worldview.

Provide a 1,500-2,000-word ethical analysis while answering the following questions:

1. How would George interpret his suffering in light of the Christian narrative, with an emphasis on the fallenness of the world?
2. How would George interpret his suffering in light of the Christian narrative, with an emphasis on the hope of resurrection?
3. As George contemplates life with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), how would the Christian worldview inform his view about the value of his life as a person?
4. What sorts of values and considerations would the Christian worldview focus on in deliberating about whether or not George should opt for euthanasia?
5. Given the above, what options would be morally justified in the Christian worldview for George and why?
6. Based on your worldview, what decision would you make if you were in George’s situation?

Remember to support your responses with the topic study materials.

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is required.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. Refer to the LopesWrite Technical Support articles for assistance.

Expert Answer and Explanation

Case Study on Death and Dying

The concept of death and dying, is, in most cases viewed from different perspectives depending on one’s cultural and spiritual beliefs.   An individual’s choice on how they approach or look at death can also vary depending on the condition they are in. The selection of voluntary euthanasia, in light of terminal illnesses, is one which has elicited discussion, especially from different religious groups, including Christianity.

This paper will evaluate a case of Mr George, a fifty-year-old lawyer diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Due to his condition, George is considering voluntary euthanasia as a possible option to avoid the harrowing life that awaits him after the disease has taken its course.

How would George interpret his suffering in light of the Christian narrative, with an emphasis on the fallenness of the world?

The Christian narrative has different interpretations of suffering as that which is experienced by George. The first interpretation of suffering is the notion that suffering comes as a form of test to measure our faith in God (O’brien, 2017). There are various biblical examples where suffering was used as a test of faith.

Such instances describe the fact that after one has demonstrated their true faith in God, they can then overcome the suffering and come out victorious, with their state prior to the suffering being restored (O’brien, 2017).

This narrative calls for one to persevere throughout the entire ordeal, which in the given case, George may not be thinking as such. The second narrative is where suffering is used as a punishment occurring after one has sinned. The biblical narrative established the fact that sinners will be punished for the sins they have committed. In such a case, then George may view his suffering as retribution for the sins he has committed in his lifetime.

Taking into consideration George’s perspective and linking it to the Christian narrative, George may believe that escaping this world, which is laced with sin may, in turn, be a better option for him. The Christian narrative, after all, assures life after death and one which is free of suffering for those who are righteous (Doka & Morgan, 2016).

He might be looking at the world as a place which is full of suffering as a result of the sins committed by man to God. God being the creator of the world, therefore, punishes its inhabitants with different forms of suffering, including untreatable conditions like the one faced by George, as retribution of sinning against Him.

How would George interpret his suffering in light of the Christian narrative, with an emphasis on the hope of resurrection?

Using the narratives described in the previous section, facing such a condition as the one being faced by George, there are various perspectives which may be taken by George. Knowing the world as a fallen place for sinners, with heaven being a place for the righteous, George may view death as a gateway which will allow him to escape the suffering that awaits him with the progression of his medical condition.

By leaving this world, then George may be hoping to resurrect in a world free from suffering.

Alternatively, George may also view escaping his suffering by engaging involuntary euthanasia to be equivalent to committing suicide and in extension, a sin against God (Rumun, 2014). Being his last act, this will prevent him from having any hope of resurrection and in return, guarantee him eternal suffering in the afterlife as per the biblical narrative.