Ordinary means must be taken to preserve life, and extraordinary means can be morally refused. It is, therefore, critical to properly characterize particular means of preserving human life as ordinary or extraordinary, that is, as morally obligatory or non-morally obligatory.
Full Answer
What is the difference between ordinary and extraordinary treatment?
The distinction between ordinary and extraordinary treatment has a long history. Since it was first proposed and discussed in the medieval period, it has formed part of medical ethics, even as that discourse, and the landscape it comments on, has radically changed and developed.
What is an example of extraordinary medical care?
For example, many forms of chemotherapy would today be considered “ordinary medical care” for cancer patients. For a particular cancer patient, however, especially at the late stages of cancer, that same treatment may become “extraordinary means” because it can no longer benefit the patient and causes a great deal of discomfort and pain.
Is it morally worse to refuse “extraordinary treatment”?
They argue that it is morally worse to refuse “ordinary treatment” rather than “extraordinary treatment.” This was based on the idea that people have a general obligation to act to sustain their own lives. A certain degree of pain and suffering is normal.
What is an example of extraordinary means?
Thus an ordinary treatment in the medical sense can be “extraordinary means” in this moral sense if it is excessively burdensome or poses excessive risk for the patient. For example, many forms of chemotherapy would today be considered “ordinary medical care” for cancer patients.
What is the difference between ordinary and extraordinary medical treatment?
Ordinary care is obligatory, but can become extraordinary care under certain situations. Extraordinary care is care whose provision involves a disproportionately great burden on the patient or community, and hence is not morally obligatory.
What is the difference between ordinary and extraordinary treatment Why does it matter?
[1] Ordinary means must be taken to preserve life, and extraordinary means can be morally refused. [2] It is, therefore, critical to properly characterize particular means of preserving human life as ordinary or extraordinary, that is, as morally obligatory or non-morally obligatory.
What determines whether a medical treatment is ordinary or extraordinary?
In determining whether a treatment is ordinary or extraordinary one should not merely consider the degree of technology involved. It would be erroneous to state that “the treatment is ordinary, but the family could not afford it.” If the family cannot afford it, then the treatment is not ordinary but extraordinary.
What is extraordinary means of treatment?
Extraordinary treatment is the medical treatment that cannot be used or obtained without excessive expense, pain or other burden or that does not offer a reasonable hope of benefit6.
What is the difference between ordinary and extraordinary medical treatment quizlet?
what is the difference between ordinary and extraordinary care? ordinary care is what doctors would usually be expected to provide; extraordinary care is not always appropriate and might be painful and unnecessary sometimes.
Which of the following are common problems with the distinction between ordinary and extraordinary measures of life support?
What is a common problem with the distinction between ordinary and extraordinary measures of life support? It might suggest that the burdens of caring for someone outweigh the benefits of his or her life.
What is the principle of ordinary and extraordinary means nursing?
Ordinary measures are those that are based on medication or treatment which is directly available and can be applied without incurring severe pain, costs or other inconveniences, but which give the patient in question justified hope for a commensurate improvement in his health.
What is the principle of extraordinary means?
Extraordinary Means. • Extraordinary means = no reasonable hope of. benefit/success; overly burdensome; excessive risk and. are not financially manageable. • No obligation to use it/morally optional.
What does no extraordinary measures mean?
DNR stands for Do Not Revive or Do Not Resuscitate If patients have DNR orders completed, they are likely to have a better quality of life/quality of death than if they do not complete a medical order like this.”
What is ordinary care in healthcare?
Ordinary care or reasonable care is what is expected of most people in most cases. The failure to exercise ordinary care may be negligence. This arises most often in the context of there being some duty owed, a breach of duty and resulting damage. It is the failure to exercise ordinary care that is negligence.
What are extraordinary measures in medicine?
"Extraordinary measures means medical or surgical measures that prolong life, or are intended to prolong life, by supplanting or maintaining the operation of bodily functions that are temporarily or permanently incapable of independent operation."
What is the teaching of the Church concerning the use of extraordinary means or aggressive medical treatment in sustaining life?
What is church teaching concerning the use of "extraordinary means", or aggressive medical treatment, in sustaining life? Church teaching holds that the decision to forego using extraordinary or disproportionate means to sustain life is morally acceptable and in no way equated with euthanasia or suicide.
What does "extraordinary" mean in euthanasia?
In 1973, the journal Pediatrics defined extraordinary means as “all medicines, treatments, and operations which cannot be obtained or used without excessive expense, pain, or other inconvenience for the patient or for others or which, if used, ...
When preparing our own advance medical directives, or when assisting others to do so, it is critically important for
When preparing our own advance medical directives, or when assisting others to do so, it is critically important for us to know precisely where ordinary means of treatment end and extraordinary means begin.
Is oxygen a treatment?
But food, water and oxygen are not “treatment” ― they are fundamental and necessary elements of medical care, and they are basic human rights. Just as a basic right (to life) was discarded for an artificially manufactured “right” (to privacy) in the drive to impose abortion, now another genuine basic right (to food and water) ...
Does the Catholic Church believe in extending life to the last minute?
Contrary to what pro‑euthanasia propagandists sometimes allege, the Catholic Church has never taught that every life must be extended to the last minute by all means possible. The Church teaches that God determines the time of death of every human being, and that it is just as impermissible to try to extend one’s life beyond that time as it is to attempt to end it before that time.
Who said that food and water were considered medical treatment?
As the late John Cardinal O’Connor once remarked, “When I visited the starving people in Ethiopia, I could hardly have imagined that providing them with food and water, even though artificially brought in from the Western world at tremendous expense, would be considered ‘medical treatment.'” 4.
Is tube feeding more expensive than mouth feeding?
Some people see tube feeding as extremely expensive and “financially burdensome,” but it is usually not much more expensive than mouth feeding , and can often be cheaper.
What distinguishes ordinary from extraordinary in Catholic theology?
What distinguishes “ordinary” from “extraordinary” in Catholic moral theology is not whether the treatment is “ordinary” in the sense of being normal or frequently used, but rather whether the treatment is beneficial (ordinary) or excessively burdensome (extraordinary) to the patient .
What does it mean when Catholic teaching states that two extremes must be avoided in end-of-life decisions?
What does it mean when Catholic teaching states that two extremes must be avoided in end-of-life decisions? The Catholic moral tradition recognizes that virtuous behavior entails a balance or proportion that can be harmed by two extremes, shortcoming or excess, each of which is a vice.
What are the four aspects of burden?
Since the 18th century, the tradition has described four aspects of burden: Excessive pain. The fact that a treatment may cause an unreasonable amount of pain for an individual can render the treatment excessively burdensome. Great cost or means.
Is chemotherapy considered ordinary medical care?
For example, many forms of chemotherapy would today be considered “ordinary medical care” for cancer patients. For a particular cancer patient, however, especially at the late stages of cancer, that same treatment may become “extraordinary means” because it can no longer benefit the patient and causes a great deal of discomfort and pain. ...
What is the power of surrogate decision making?
The surrogate decision-making has the power to act on this right for the patient, as long as there is reason to believe that the surrogate is making decisions ...
Is there a distinction between treatment in categories?
Legally no distinction between treatment in categories is recognized with regard to the right to refuse treatment. However, some see a moral difference and refusal of ordinary treatment maybe a sign that a surrogate is not acting in good faith.
Abstract
The distinction between ordinary and extraordinary treatment has a long history. Since it was first proposed and discussed in the medieval period, it has formed part of medical ethics, even as that discourse, and the landscape it comments on, has radically changed and developed.
About this chapter
Kearns A.J., Emmerich N., Gordijn B. (2020) The Distinction between Ordinary and Extraordinary Treatment: Can It Be Maintained?. In: Emmerich N., Mallia P., Gordijn B., Pistoia F. (eds) Contemporary European Perspectives on the Ethics of End of Life Care. Philosophy and Medicine, vol 136. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-40033-0_14
Church Teaching: Ordinary and Extraordinary Means
Food and Water
- How many people who sit down at a McDonalds to eat a double quarter pounder with cheese, French fries, and Coke consider themselves to be undergoing medical treatment? As the late John Cardinal O’Connor once remarked, “When I visited the starving people in Ethiopia, I could hardly have imagined that providing them with food and water, even though artificially brought in from t…
Special Scenarios
- No person should be deprived of food and water as long as they can do him good. However, if their provision causes significant pain or discomfort in the very last stages of life ― when death is truly imminent, within a few hours ― then it may be permissible to withdraw them to avoid pain and suffering. If a stomach tube is causing a person pain, and he is within hours of death, nutriti…
Conclusion
- Unfortunately, pro‑euthanasia activists, just like pro-abortionists, will stretch any exception to the absolute limit. Many abortionists have said that all pregnancies “threaten the life of the mother.” Some people see tube feeding as extremely expensive and “financially burdensome,” but it is usually not much more expensive than mouth feeding, and can often be cheaper. The problem h…
Endnotes
- J.E. Schowalter, J.B. Ferholt, and N.M. Mann. “The Adolescent Patient’s Decision to Die.” Pediatrics, January 1973, pages 101 and 102. Joint Pastoral Letter of the Bishops of Ireland. “Human Life Is Sacred.” May 1, 1975. Printed in the English edition of L’Osservatore Romano, May 22, 1975, and reprinted in its entirety in the Daughters of St. Paul’s Yes to Life, pages 146 to 165…