The Death Of Elizabeth Bouvia - 1287 Words

In 1983 Elizabeth Bouvia, who was a 26-year-old quadriplegic who was affected by cerebral palsy, entered a hospital in Riverside, California wishing to starve herself to death. Elizabeth Bouvia suffered from cerebral palsy and severe arthritis causing her to be in chronic pain and close to being completely paralyzed. Bouvia was only able to make movement in some fingers on her right hand and make a few facial movements. Elizabeth Bouvia was unable to sit up and could only lay flat causing her to be confined to her bed, and further causing her to depend on others for even the simplest of tasks. Bouvia relied on others to feed her, bathe her, and help her defecate. Bouvia had no one in her life able to care for her around the clock like she needed, so out of options Bouvia entered Riverside General Hospital. Bouvia no longer wanted to live the quality of life she had been leading and decided she would rather die. Bouvia’s only request of Riverside General Hospital was to provide her with medication for the unbearable pain she suffered, and provide her a place where she could receive basic care while she tried to die. She decided she was going to end her life by not eating eventually starving herself to death. Believing that Bouvia could survive several more years with proper sustenance the hospital could not allow Bouvia to starve herself, so they began force-feeding her. Bouvia went California county court so she could get the right to be cared for in Riverside GeneralShow MoreRelatedBouvia V. Superior Court1645 Words   |  7 Pages1.3 Bouvia v. Superior Court Dawnyel Donaldson Franklin University Healthcare Law and Ethics HCM742-H1WW (F14) Julia Matthews JD/MPH November 13, 2014 The case of Elizabeth Bouvia v. Superior Court is a well-known case in the patient’s right to refuse treatment. Elizabeth Bouvia was born with cerebral palsy, which worsened, as she grew older and subsequently caused her to become a quadriplegic. She additionally developed severe degenerative arthritis that caused her to be in continuousRead More Euthanasia Essay: The Hemlock Society and Assisted Suicide1080 Words   |  5 Pages Hemlock Society, Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide nbsp; Dori Zook, Hemlock Society public relations director, claims that Hemlock supports legalization of physician- assisted death only in cases of terminal illness. And Hemlocks website asserts that the Society favors physician-assisted suicide strictly for someone who is already in the dying process. But there is a glaring discrepancy between this official stance and what prominent members of Hemlock have said and done. nbsp; ForRead MoreWhat defines a Human Being? The Criteria for Personhood Essay example797 Words   |  4 Pagesthought to the subject or never really considered it relevant to medicine until Medical Ethics class. I always assumed that if someone wanted to die, they could do so without much effort, and never really considered the situations of people like Elizabeth Bouvia and Larry Mcafee. Likewise, I never really considered the situations of comatose patients like Terry Schiavo. To me, it is logical and rational for anyone in severe pain to want to end that pain. I think that if people are physically and mentally