Living Wills Essay -- legal document life support terminal illness

Living Wills, sometimes called Advanced Directives, are legal documents accepted in all 50 states. They clearly define a person’s wish to decline life-support or medical treatment in certain circumstances, usually when death is imminent. Generally, a living will takes effect when a person becomes terminally ill, permanently unconscious or conscious with irreversible brain damage. A living will also allows a person to state with particularity the forms of treatment are wanted and not wanted. For example, if a one does not want artificial life support, then sign the living will stating that desire. It is also important to discuss your beliefs and wishes with you family, spouse and other people whose opinions you respect, such as clergy, physicians, attorney or an accountant. Living wills are recognized in every state, but each state has different requirements. If someone is interested in making a living will, contact an expert in the state that you live in, such as a hospital, local agency on aging or local bar association. To help ensure that the living will be honored, give copies to family members, physicians, lawyer and other involved in caring for the person’s welfare. Federal law now requires most health care facilities (hospitals, nursing homes, HMOs and home health agencies) to ask patients if they have a living will or would like to complete one. Can Medical Care Legally Be Stopped If There Is NO Living Will? When there is no written document, a spouse or close family member may still request that treatment be withheld if the patient cannot do so, but the request could be denied. The way states and health care providers handle such cases varies widely. Typically, a doctor or hospital representative will meet with a person’s family to discuss what that person’s wishes were. In some cases a health care facility may want to withhold or provide life support against a family’s wishes. In some cases a formal hearing may be held to determine how to proceed. How To Make A Living Will The rules for preparing a living will vary from state. Some states require that the document be signed with the same formalities required for execution of a will, but many state recognize the effectiveness of more informal declarations. Generally a living will: Should Be in Writing. Should Be Signed and Dated. Should Be Signed Voluntarily Should State Sp... ...tain types of treatment in various health-care situations. Some of the options are explained below: DNR – â€Å"Do Not Resuscitate† order (DNR) simply states that if you are deemed by a physician to be terminally ill, you do not wish to receive cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) if your heart stops beating or you stop breathing. You feel that CPR will be futile or will serve to only prolong your life. Surgery – If you become terminally ill, you may not wish to have surgery, es-pecially if that surgery is elective or if it life-prolonging in the case of imminent death. For example, a terminal cancer patient may not wish to have minor surgery, such as a tonsillectomy if they have tonsillitis. If you are writing your own will, you may want to make your wishes regarding surgery case specific, you have the ability to state what YOU want. Pain Medication. A living will should address the types of medication you wish to have administered and under what circumstances. Respirators – Respirators are a means of artificial respiration for patients who cannot breathe on their own.. If you disagree with the means or â€Å"artificial† medical treatments, these should be address in the living will.

Why I Love Disrespecting My Elders Essay

Coming from a Filipino family, my parents taught me to use â€Å"po† and â€Å"opo† every time I will be talking to elders and of course, to never dare to talk back— constantly telling me that these show respect. In addition, my former teachers would also repeat to me that I should always respect my elders. Since I was too young then and still incapable of thinking thoroughly, I used to believe that was the right thing to do. It was a good thing I realized it is not. Do not get me wrong. I value the word respect a lot that I see it as if it is something sacred. Respect for me is the third most precious, priceless gift a person could possibly give to someone (no matter what their age is), next to love and time. Therefore for me, earning one’s respect is a privilege. A privilege that should only be granted to those people who truly deserve them; a privilege that could only be gained if one has done an act worthy of praise and admiration. Unfortunately, many Filipinos think of respect as something that it is mandatory to give to anyone who is older than them. But does it feel right showing respect to people you have seen doing unjust things to others only because they are older? Because in my case, it surely gives me a nausea when I am expected to greet a teacher â€Å"Good morning!† when I already heard her telling snide remarks to one of her students before. I also disrespect people who are in position but clearly have no idea of what their job is about and what they should be doing. I have encountered a number of secretaries or persons in authority who would converse with me on formal matters and would speak to and address me as if I was just their high school friend, their little sister, and the worst of all, was one of their maids. As persons in authority who are engaged to talking to people every day, they should be mindful enough of how they would treat their clients. No matter how high one’s position is, I would never respect him if he acts like an uneducated person who is rude, arrogant, and impolite. And if in case he gets hurt by my usual disrespectful acts—being frank and straight-forward of my thoughts—I would never apologize, because he needs to know that what he was doing with his clients is wrong, and someone has to point it out to him, no matter how harsh it may sound. Lastly, I disrespect them because they are not always right and they could be corrected. Being older does not mean one is already more intelligent, although they could be wiser due to their  experiences, but still there is a possibility that some of today’s generation is smarter than of their parents’ generation. So I believe that letting the elders do away with their wrong philosophies in life would do no good to any side of the parties. I believe that having the courage to disrespect my elders does not only mean that I could step up for myself and express my opinion on what I think is right, but also it could help the elders to think and reflect more on their views of things, which for me is a good thing. To sum everything up, all I want to say is: the reason why I love disrespecting older people is because I care for them. I want them to become better individuals for themselves and for the people they are interacting with every day in their own personal lives. All that for the hope that someday, everyone would become aware of how they affect their community and see their mistakes and realize what they must do to become better citizens of this country.

Hume’s Experience Versus Peirce’s Originality - 1305 Words

Most individuals tend to base their understanding of the world solely on what they know; however they acquire this knowledge mostly through experience which can be deemed as problematic by different philosophers. The debate regarding knowledge through experience tends to revolve around philosophers who view experience as a limiting form of knowledge, in contrast to other philosophers who view experience as a stepping stone to acquiring the accuracy and credibility of a particular idea. David Hume and Charles Peirce are two philosophers whose ideas of reasoning fall within this debate. David Hume is a philosopher who believes that individuals naturally reason inductively; which is, using experiences to interpret and predict things. While Charles Peirce is a philosopher who believes that through abductive reasoning, individuals have a better chance of determining if a notion is true or false. Although both inductive reasoning and abductive reasoning stems from the same idea of reasonin g through experience, the conclusion from both philosophers are at opposite ends. Where Hume finds inductive reasoning problematic, Peirce presents abduction as a solution. Therefore, this essay will compare the arguments of both philosophers to determine whose perspective is more persuasive and to find out what roles these arguments play in scientific knowledge. Induction is the act of formulating a general conclusion based on experience. In order words, the more we perceive one particular