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In the movie ‘Million Dollar Baby’, the primary ethical dilemma was the act of euthanasia. Maggie, a famous female boxer, became paralyzed following an injury sustained during a match with the champion of women’s boxing. Eventually, she decided to commit assisted suicide so that she would be out of her misery and remember the good times she had in life and when boxing. The ethical theory of care-based ethics seems most relevant in this film because of the fact that care-based ethics define ‘good’ as meeting the needs of others and preserving and enriching relationships. In the case of Maggie, her trainer would’ve been considered to be doing ‘good’ because he met her needs by assisting her with suicide and taking away her pain.
The ethical principles involved were as follows. First, it is the principle of respect for autonomy. This is usually associated with allowing or enabling patients to make their own decisions about which healthcare interventions they will or will not receive. This was depicted in the movie as Maggie made a decision and her trainer respected that decision, although it meant losing her. Second, it is beneficence.
Beneficence requires acting in a way that best promotes the welfare of patients. However, there is controversy over what courses of action should be taken to properly fulfill this duty. While some assert that beneficence requires the preservation of life no matter what the cost, others argue that a patient’s interests are best served by respecting the patient’s autonomy, being sensitive to the pain he/she is suffering, and being willing to take action to end that pain. In the case of a terminally ill patient, suffering uncontrollable pain and asking for an end to his/her life, it seems that the most helpful activity would be to end his/her life mercifully. This is similar to the case with Maggie, her trainer saw the pain and suffering that she was in, and although they had already grown a close relationship, he was willing to take the action to end her pain and respect her wishes because that is what was most helpful for her.
And finally, it is non-maleficence. Many treatments available through modern medical technology successfully sustain life, but in fact, reduce the quality of life led by the patient without ultimately providing a cure. Modern medical technology turns ‘prolongation of life into prolongation of dying’. Patients who receive treatments that take a tremendous physical toll upon them, treatments that neither adequately combat the pain of their conditions nor provide a cure, simply endure a prolonged period of pain and suffering. This is similar to the case of Maggie being paralyzed. The only thing keeping her alive was the respirator, therefore having her there in the hospital unable to do what she loved only opened the door to pain and suffering. Thus, medical interventions that prolong life, either right up to the time of death or to a point where the patient is left to suffer in a horribly decrepit state, clearly do the patient more harm than good. While one view of the principle of non-maleficence calls for the preservation of patients’ lives regardless of the quality of those lives, another view holds that medical interventions cause true harm to the patient through prolonged or more intense suffering, which is what was happening with Maggie causing her to seek assistance with suicide.
Euthanasia can be considered a good thing because of reasons like: people should be allowed to choose; euthanasia can reduce or prevent human suffering by relieving people who are suffering extreme pain; it can also relieve suffering where someone’s quality of life has become drastically low; and it can free up health care resources to help someone else who is severely ill. However, euthanasia can also be considered bad for the following reasons: euthanasia devalues human life; physicians and other medical care people should not be involved in directly causing death; there is a danger that euthanasia could be used to control health care costs, with the patient’s needs and wishes taking second place; there is a ‘slippery slope’ effect that has occurred where euthanasia has been first been legalized for only the terminally ill and later laws are changed to allow it for other people or to be done non-voluntarily; disputes over mercy killings can often be very difficult in practice, as it is not always clear what the patient wants, or is in their interests. It is likely that more euthanasia requests would result in more extended legal battles, for instance, in the case of the Florida woman, Terri Schiavo, who was in a coma for years. Her husband wanted the hospital to remove her feeding tube, and her parents fought a legal battle to try to stop that from happening.
This movie was compelling and thought-provoking. It was subtle in setting up the storyline and drew you into the life of Maggie, her background, and made you both sympathetic and empathetic to her story, its issues, and her choices. From the onset of the movie, you were rooting for Maggie the underdog, and her desire to achieve and her drive to do that, especially as a woman in the field of boxing. As she made advances in boxing, Maggie’s condition improved and she appeared to be quite happy. I believe that God gives life, therefore no one should take it away, therefore I do not believe in euthanasia. I totally empathize with Maggie and can understand why she wanted to be euthanized when everything she worked hard to achieve, not being able to function on her own, and depending on others to fulfill her activities of daily living, was not what she had envisioned for her life. This indeed was a ‘hard pill to swallow’ and a major challenge. Charles Bukowski said: “Find what you love and let it kill you”. Maggie did just that! I believe that the pain that she was going through both physically and emotionally as she could not do what she loved anymore was excruciating. I also believe that to only be hanging on to life because of a machine is also painful, especially if you know that is the only reason why you are still in existence. I believe that coping and adjusting to this new lifestyle where she will be restricted from performing most tasks could have definitely sent her into a state of depression. While about 10 percent of the U.S. non-disabled population is said to be moderately or severely depressed, research shows that about 20 to 30 percent of people with long-term disabilities are living with depression. Depression is common among people who are paralyzed.
I agree with Maggie’s decision and I would agree with anyone’s decision if their pain becomes unbearable when they cannot perform for themselves and their independence is gone. The choice not to remain in this condition I will support.
References
- Depression. (2020). Retrieved from Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation: https://www.christopherreeve.org/living-with-paralysis/health/depression
- Eastwood, C. (Director). (2004). Million Dollar Baby [Motion Picture].
- Entwistle, V. A., Carter, S. M., Cribb, A., & McCaffrey, K. (2010). Supporting Patient Autonomy: The Importance of Clinician-patient Relationships. Society of General Internal Medicine.
- Goodman, P. (2020, February 16). Euthanasia Pros and Cons: Should People Have the Right to Die? Retrieved from Soapboxie: https://soapboxie.com/social-issues/euthanasia-pros-and-cons-should-people-have-the-right-to-die
- Spina, B. (1998). Ethical Justifications for Voluntary Active Euthanasia. Richmond Journal of Law and The Public Interest, 2-3.
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