What if you have a family friend who has suffered from severe depression for yea

What if you have a family friend who has suffered from severe depression for years? Suppose that one day you recognize her name on an order for a portable chest x-ray in intensive care. When you get to the intensive care unit, your friend is unresponsive and you overhear that she has taken an overdose with the help of a long-time friend. Later that day her friend is arrested. The following day, studies indicate that the woman has no significant brain activity. A letter she left is discovered, explaining that she couldn’t stand the suffering from her illness anymore, that her life was unbearable, and that her final wish was to die and be in peace.
How does her definition of life affect her decision?
What are the arguments for and against her right to die?
What are the ethical implications of having another person enter into the plan for and act of death?
Is this passive or active suicide?
How might mental illness differ from physical illness when life-sustaining procedures are discussed?
What if another family member is appointed surrogate for the woman and this person is determined to make every attempt to extend the woman’s life?
What if the defense called you, as a family friend, to testify in court concerning the woman’s battle with depression? How would you feel? What would you say?
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