A Little Ethics With Your Lunch?

Yesterday I attended an ethical discussion at work which touched on the idea of "when does the end of life begin?" I've never had a strong interest in ethics in the past but I found the discussion topic fascinating and decided to check it out.

Our conversation veered rather quickly away from the topic of the "end of life" and more towards the difficult decisions that need to be made as an individuals life is coming to an end. The question: when do you know that it is the right time to allow for someones passing? Unfortunately the discussion tended to be vague because as we all accepted early on, you can't make any blanket statements and assume that it will apply for every situation. The right time for one person may be vastly different then another. But how do you know? Is it when there are no other options left, when you are just too tired to fight, or when a medical professional tells you it's time?

The discussion only ran for an hour and in that time we only touched on a few parts of the issue. The biggest discussion was based on how one person or a collective can make such a decision for a person who is non-verbal and can't communicate their own wishes. It is at that point that you have to ask yourself what is best for this individual, and make a decision that is well informed yet free from as much bias as possible. However, even armed with as much knowledge as possible, and being completely free of emotion I don't know that I could make that call on someones behalf. I would never be able to say I had decided with 100% certainty. If the individual could communicate, would they express wishes contrary to the decision I had made?

I have been wondering these things for a little while now, especially with the operation Lana recently underwent. Some might say that the situation with Lana is different because she is a pet and not a human being...but I beg to differ. She is still a member of my family, someone I had to make a difficult decision for. We appear to have made the correct call, but still I have to wonder what she was thinking during the whole thing.

Attending the debate certainly opened my eyes to new questions. I'm glad that I attended and even expressed my own opinions. At points I felt a little bit out of my element being in a room filled with physical therapists, nurses and managers, but none-the-less I am glad I went.

I pose this question to you now, how do you know when it is time?