fe "of no use" or it is or may become a burden to the family and/or friends.In defense of the statement about the doctor, one may side with the story of a nurse, Barbara Huttman. Barbara was maliciously ridiculed as a murderer when she appeared on the Phil Donahue show in 1983. She told of a story of her favorite cancer patient, Mac. In this story, she told of a great deal of hardships Mac and his family had to face. Doctors even had to resuscitate Mac 52 times on one month! Mac begged and pleaded with Barbara to stop giving him treatment because the pain was so unbearable. Barbara even tried to get a "no code" order, which meant that once Mac had stopped breathing, they would not resuscitate him. Mac finally asked Barbara one more time to just let him go the next time he stopped breathing. Well, Mac stopped breathing and Barbara grabbed the Blue Code button but hesitated to push it. Barbara just held Mac's hand until the grip become loose and the life of Mac left his body. She then waited until she knew that the team could not bring him back, and then she pushed the button. Barbara knows that she may be guilty of murder, but she feels that it was worth the crime of compassion (Barnet & Bedau, 429).Who determines the competency of an ill patient? This is a difficult question to answer since most of us would like to think that we are all competent in our decision making unless we are mentally ill or are in a comatose state. But then if a patient does become incompetent, who then makes the decision for him? Does his family have any power over what should be done with their relative?Since the landmark case of Karen Ann Quinlan in 1976, courts in some 26 American jurisdictions have authorized the refusal of treatment in circumstances where that refusal would most likely result in the patient's death. Many believe that the rules in this area of law had become relatively clear although their application in particular cases necessarily involve...
