Friday, May 14, 2010
Nurse online encourages suicides
Click on this link to read a Sarasota Herald-Tribune story about a nurse who gave out medical advice online about how to commit suicide. While this would seem to be a blatant violation of the Hippocratic Oath to "do no harm," some would argue that such information could be beneficial to those suffering from terminal illnesses. Do you believe the nurse's actions were dangerous? Illegal? Unethical? Or not so?
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All of the Above, i cant believe someone actually encouraged such things..
ReplyDeleteObviously it is a very dangerous idea to mess with people's psyches and encourage them to end their lives, even give advice on how to go about it, but would these people have killed themselves regardless of advice or encouragement from someone else? I'll get personal here and tell you that my father committed suicide when I was thirteen. Of course it is horrible and I wouldn't want anyone to think that their life isn't worth living. But really, even if someone encourages you to stay alive and give you hope, people end up killing themselves anyway. Depression to the point of suicide in very psychological and I believe once you have made up your mind to do it you will go through with it whether it be at that moment or years down the road.
ReplyDeleteJust playing devil's advocate here. If someone can be sued or imprisoned for encouraging someone to kill themselves, shouldn't people who encourage others to smoke cigarettes, drive drunk, and other potential fatal acts, be also prosecuted?