Link: http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/bioethics/9810/refuse.treatment/template.html
Summary: A family in Maine decides to stop treatment for her 4 year old son who is suffering from HIV infection. A few years back, her 3 year old daughter died from AIDS. This incident helped her decision with her son. The treatment for HIV seems to be worse than the actual disease. The side effects from the drugs are severe and may just prolong the suffering of the boy. The Department of Human Services asked for custody of the boy as a result of neglect and abuse from his mother.
Question: What is your opinion on the mother's decision? Is it wrong for a mother to choose to stop treatment for her son?
The mother seems to care about the short term pain more than the long term effects. The child may be treated for HIV, but his pain from medications seem to be more prevalent than his actual disease. I think that the mother is not at fault here as long as her child also chooses to stop treatment. It would be unethical if the child wanted to continue treatment but the mother refused.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Margaret, the mother seems most concerned with the short term suffering, and seems set in the fact that her son will pass away shortly, with or without the treatment. The mother should not be blamed for wanting to ease her son's pain. Her only intentions are to make her son as comfortable as possible, so that he does not suffer. In the end, this mother seems to have a realistic outlook on the life of her son, and is only doing what she thinks is best for him.
ReplyDeleteThis is a tough one. Parents don't want to see their children suffer, and if that medication is the cause of the suffering, then she should stop it. HIV in general is a tragic disease, but victims of it shouldn't have to suffer more than they have to when they take that medication.
ReplyDeleteThis was probably a tough decision for the mother to make. However, it seems like she thought about this a lot, and weighed out the pros and cons of having her son go through treatment. Parents would never want to see their child suffer, and if the HIV medicine causes more pain than the actual disease, then the mother made a good decision.
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