• Common Conditions
    • Allergies and Asthma
    • Arthritis
    • Cancer
    • Diabetes
    • Digestive Disorders
    • Heart Disease
    • Other Conditions
  • Mental Health
    • ADHD-ADD
    • Anxiety
    • Autism / PDD
    • Depression
    • OCD
    • Eating Disorders
  • Healthy Living
    • Alternative and Natural
    • Diet and Nutrition
    • Fitness and Exercise
    • Women's Health
    • Health Care Technology
Skip to content
768

Using Medical Technology to Prolong Life: Ethical Questions and Issues Raised by the Karen Ann Quilan and Terri Schiavo Cases

Medical Testing Devices and Instruments / By GiangNguyen / Health Care Technology

The innovations in medical technology have provided medical professionals with an extraordinary ability to prevent diseases, to support life and to increase life expectancy. Technology has not only helped individuals to overcome death but also has been effective in prolonging a patient’s life. Medical technologies such as artificial kidneys, hearing aids, insulin pumps, joint implants, and in home health monitoring systems have become extremely successful. We can now maintain vital signs of patients with critical illnesses for extensive periods of time. This raises serious ethical questions concerning the quality of life of these patients and pushes forward the need to reevaluate the definitions of life and death.

In recent years, there have been efforts in the United States and across the globe to develop guidelines for patient care and medical ethics associated with the use of medical technologies. The World Medical Association developed the Geneva Convention Code of Medical Ethics for medical professionals using technologies for diagnosis and treatment. Similarly, in 1999, the House of Delegates of the American Medical Association rewrote the Principles of Medical Ethics to take into account the recent advances in medical technology.

Let’s now briefly consider two controversial cases that raise several ethical issues in using medical technology to prolong human life.

Karen Ann Quilan was 21 years old when she went into a persistent vegetative coma after ingesting alcohol with prescription tranquilizers at a party. She had serious brain damages but her heart and lung were still functioning and could be maintained by using machines. Thus, her brain was completely dead yet her body was not. After a long legal battle, Quilan’s family finally was allowed to remove her from the life support that kept her alive. She surprisingly lived in a coma for several more years by being fed through a tube.

More recently, we had the case of Terri Schiavo. In 1990, Terri Schiavo went into a comma following a cardiac arrest . After 8 years, Schiavo’s husband wanted to remove the feeding tube so she could die. However, Schiavo’s parents and sister wanted to keep her body alive with the feeding tube and hoped that one day she could recover. In 2001, the court ordered to remove the feeding tube, but the parents won a temporary legal injunction to restore the tube. The result is a long legal and political battle that lasted almost 5 years. Terri Schiavo was finally allowed to die in 2005.

Post navigation

← Previous Post
Next Post →

Recent

  • Regulations for Da Vinci Robotic Surgery Training
  • Pain Control Portable Home Medical Devices
  • About the Handheld ECG Monitor
  • The Importance of Implantable Medical Devices in the Health Care Field
  • iPhone Apps for Emergencies: The Top Life-Saving iPhone Apps
  • iPhone Apps for Runners: Best Apps to Keep Runners Motivated and Running
About | Copyright Policy | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use

The material on Healthguideinfo.com is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment from a physician or other qualified health provider.

Copyright © 2019 Health Guide Info. All Rights Reserved.

 


Popular Pages

  • Home

More Info

 

Search

Navigation

  • Top Menu

Social

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
© 2019 healthguideinfo.com. All rights reserved.
  • Privacy Policy