Question

melanie has suffered from als (lou gehrigs disease) for the last three years. she wanted to be around for her husband and two small children as long as possible. she is now in the end stages of the disease and paralyzed from the neck down and struggles to breathe. melanie has no quality of life. her husband agreed to help end her life by disconnecting her breathing machine in the middle of the night. this is an example of ______. physician - assisted suicide passive euthanasia active euthanasia palliative care

Explanation:

• Physician - assisted suicide involves a physician providing means for a patient to end their life, which is not the case here as the husband is disconnecting the machine.
• Passive euthanasia is the withdrawal or withholding of life - sustaining treatment (like disconnecting a breathing machine) to allow a patient to die naturally, which matches Melanie's situation.
• Active euthanasia involves taking active steps (like giving a lethal injection) to end a patient's life, and here the action is just stopping a life - sustaining machine.
• Palliative care is focused on relieving symptoms and improving quality of life for terminally ill patients, not on ending life.

Answer:

B. passive euthanasia