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In my opinion, there are three main reasons why it is acceptable to give death row
inmates the option to decline medical treatment for their illnesses. First of all, it is unethical to
force anyone to take medication against their will, as the Hippocratic oath requires. Second,
giving medication only to briefly reinstate competency for execution could violate someone's
right to privacy. Last but not least, the practice of administering forced medication with the
ultimate goal of execution undermines modern bioethical norms.
The Hippocratic Oath emphasizes respecting patient liberty and beneficence by
forbidding doctors from giving deadly medications upon request. I argue that compulsory
medicine violates the Hippocratic Oath and harms patients, even though there are legal
justifications, such as the 1990 Supreme Court decision in Washington v. Harper (Justia, 2021).
Another issue is the requirement of medicine to temporarily reinstate competency, which would
go against a person's right to due process. According to Strasser (2017), the Fifth Amendment
protects people's life, liberty, and property from being taken away without due process. It may be
against the law to force a mentally ill prisoner who has been declared incompetent to stand trial
into a semi-competent state. Legal precedents have shown that the state's interests can take
precedence over individual liberty, but this approach begs ethical concerns, especially in light of
the Hippocratic Oath.
The continuation of coerced medication with the ultimate purpose of execution
jeopardizes the values of beneficence, justice, patient autonomy, and the Hippocratic Oath.
Maintaining a balance of power between the state and the patient in healthcare requires
upholding contemporary bioethical principles. These bioethical norms may be compromised if
the state is permitted to force people who refuse to take medication to end their lives. Although
some parts of the Hippocratic Oath lack legal force, its precepts remain modern healthcare ethics.
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Some may argue that the Oath is no longer relevant today and is outdated (Encyclopedia
Britannica, 2017). But ignoring its timeless moral precepts runs the risk of undermining the
norms that currently direct moral medical practice.
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References
Encyclopedia Britannica. (2017). Hippocratic oath | ethical code. In
Encyclopædia Britannica
.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hippocratic-oath
Justia. (2021).
Washington v. Harper, 494 U.S. 210 (1990)
. Justia Law.
https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/494/210/
Strasser, R. (2017, June 9).
Fifth Amendment
. LII / Legal Information Institute; Cornell Law
School. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/fifth_amendment