Ethics in Technology: Advance Health Care Directive Form Instructions
While filling up the forms, I based my decisions on my religious and moral beliefs, although I also made use of the utilitarian concept. From a religious perspective, I believe that my life is from God and although this is my body, I believe that It is not up to me to decide when I should die. I believe that my life is a gift from God and as such, I should do everything I can to protect it and take care of it; hence, making me open to all possible treatments that can improve my health and prolong my life. From a moral perspective, I believe that it is wrong to take any life – yours or not. I’d also hate to have to put other people through the dilemma of whether to follow my wishes or to follow their own moral beliefs. On the other hand, I don’t see anything wrong with donating my organs. If they can prolong the life of another person then I believe that I would be doing something good.
I thought about my family and friends, as well as the people who need organ donors, while making my decisions. Although I found it quite surprising that I could make such choices now – and they would be legally binding – making the decisions weren’t really hard for me as I’m pretty firm in my beliefs about such matters.
For now, I am confident about my choices, but I acknowledge that these may change in the future. After all, a lot can happen in 30, 40, or more years – things that may alter my perspectives. At any rate, this assignment helped me assess my moral beliefs and determine where I stand. What’s negative about it is that knowing these possibilities might alter my beliefs. They might keep me pondering about them and might lead me to rationalizing that if they’re legal then aren’t they also moral?
References
Advance Health Care Directive Form Instructions. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://ag.ca.gov/
consumers/pdf/AHCDS1.pdf
Advance Medical Directive. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.mednotice.com/
AdvanceDirective_MI.pdf
Rachels, J. & Rachels, S. (2011, December 1). The elements of moral philosophy (7th ed.). New
York, NY: McGraw Hill
