University Nursing Ethics Essay: Analysis of Assisted Suicide Dilemma

This essay delves into the ethical complexities of assisted suicide within the nursing profession. It highlights the crucial role of ethics in nursing care and the importance of upholding human rights. The discussion centers on the controversial issue of whether it is ethically permissible for nurses to assist terminally ill patients in ending their lives. The essay examines the ethical principles of non-maleficence (avoiding harm), beneficence (doing good), and the duty to provide care, revealing how assisted suicide challenges these principles. The essay argues that while assisting in suicide may align with beneficence by alleviating suffering, it violates non-maleficence and the fundamental nursing duty to provide care, ultimately concluding that assisted suicide breaches key ethical standards in nursing practice. The essay uses references to support its arguments and provide a comprehensive overview of the ethical issues involved.

Running head: ETHICS IN NURSING
Ethics in Nursing
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1ETHICS IN NURSING
Introduction
In the profession of nursing the concept of ethics is very crucial and it is the duty of the
nurses to maintain the ethical issues throughout the care process along with providing safe and
best quality care to the patients. Along with this, it is crucial for the nurses to maintain the issue
of human rights during the care providing processes (Suresh 2014).
The present essay discuss about the ethical dilemma of the nurses during the process of
assisted suicide of a patient.
Discussion
The concept of assisted suicide is one of the most controversial issues for the health care
professionals who are working with the terminally ill patients. Hence, the question arise that it
whether it is right to assist the patients to die or not. In this regard, the issue of ethical dilemma
of the health care professionals comes into the practice (Pope, Hough and Chase 2016).
According to the study of Grace (2017), the idea of non-maleficence refers to the concept of not
harming others and in case of the nurses and other health care professionals it is the most
important medical ethics to be followed. For example it can be stated that as a part of the
Hippocratic Oath, it is the duty of all the health care professionals to maintain the principle of
non-maleficence during the delivery of care. For example it can be stated that when a health care
professionals come to know that a medication is harmful for the patient then the health care
professionals must stop that medication as a part of the non-maleficence principle. In case of
assisted suicide this ethical principle of non-maleficence is violated as by assisting an individual
in the process of dying the health care professional may cause harm to that patient. Although, it
is quite evident that most of the patients searching for assisted suicide are terminally ill and by

2ETHICS IN NURSING
assisting them in the assisted suicide process the health care professionals follow the principle of
beneficence. According to the study of (), it is reported that the idea of providing benefit to the
patients refers to the concept of beneficence. In case of assisted suicide process, although the
ethical principle of non-maleficence is breached still the ethical principle of beneficence is
maintained as the nurse or the health care professionals work towards the goodness of the
patients in terms of giving relief from her/his poor condition (Bradely 2017). On the contrary,
another ethical principle that is duty of providing care to the patients is also violated during the
assisted suicide process. It can be stated that although the health care providers show respect to
the decision of the patients, still the ethical principle of providing care is violated. In any
circumstances, it is duty of the nurses and health care professionals to provide care to the
patients. Hence, assisting the patient in the suicide process breaches the ethical principle of
providing care as it indicates that the health care professionals do not maintain their duty
properly (Grace 2017).
Conclusion
Therefore, it can be concluded that Assisted Suicide breach the ethical principles like
non- maleficence and duty to provide care.

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References
Bradley, L., 2017. Non-maleficence: perspective of a medical student. The British Journal of
General Practice, 67(659), p.252.
Grace, P.J. ed., 2017. Nursing ethics and professional responsibility in advanced practice. Jones
& Bartlett Learning.
Pope, B., Hough, M.C. and Chase, S., 2016. Ethics in community nursing. Online Journal of
Health Ethics, 12(2), p.3.
Suresh, S., 2014. Nursing research and statistics. Elsevier Health Sciences.