TCO Assessed
Given a carefully drawn case on a contentious
subject, such as physician-assisted suicide, same-sex marriage, or genetic
engineering, develop a legal opinion grounded in (U.S.) constitutional
reasoning
The Activity
• Review the Remember This box
regarding the use of precedent in the U.S. court system in the Week 3 Lecture.
• Consider the following situation
concerning the right to die in America.
Preston Trident
is a 35-year-old male. He is a professor at a prestigious university and a
working artist, recognized for his excellent work as a sculptor. He is in a
committed long-term relationship. Approximately 6 months ago, Preston was
involved in a severe automobile accident, which left him a quadriplegic.
Although his mind is alert and he is able to communicate verbally, the only
bodily functions he can perform on his own (other than speaking) are to turn
his head, eat, and blink his eyes. He does have normal hearing and vision. He
has been examined by four of the best neurological specialists in the world and
all agree that current medical technology offers him no hope for a recovery of
any kind. Also, he has been examined by three board-qualified psychiatrists who
all agree that he is of sound mind and fully capable of making his own
decisions. He remains in the same hospital he was brought to by ambulance the
day of his accident. He requires constant nursing care and must have dialysis
3–4 times per week.
About 4 months
into his hospital confinement, Preston came to the conclusion that because of
the hopelessness of his condition, he no longer wanted to live. Because he
could not pursue the things in life that were most important to him (teaching,
sculpting, participating in a relationship), he decided that it was not in his
best interest to go on living. He did not regard lying in a hospital bed, and
waiting possibly decades for a normal death, as anything resembling a quality
life.
Having come to
this conclusion freely, he asked the hospital to release him, realizing that
without the dialysis and other essential medical services, he would die
quickly. The Chief of Medical Services for the hospital, also understanding
that death would quickly follow if Mr. Trident is released, refused to release
him on the grounds that to do so would be a violation of medical ethics and his
moral responsibility. Preston has sued the hospital for his immediate release
on the grounds that he is being confined against his will in violation of the
due process clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
• Research and review the 14th
Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and explore the use of due process in the
above case.
• Research Cruzan v. Director, Missouri
Department of Health, which is a right-to-die case, and see what precedent it
established.
• Assess how the Cruzan case connects
to the above scenario.
• Create a list of other right-to-die
cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.
• Complete the assessment.
The Questions
(TCO 4) What are
your initial, nonlegal, thoughts on this case? How would you
decide it based
on your own belief structures? For example, if you were the judge
in this case,
would you would allow Mr. Trident to leave the hospital, thus bringing about
his death? Or would you feel for Mr. Trident but side with the hospital because
he clearly is not in the right mind to make such decisions for himself? Or
would you perhaps side with the hospital because people should not be allowed
to refuse medical treatment or go to the extreme of ordering the hospital to
aid in the shortening of his life so that he did not have to suffer a painful
death? What would you do? Please put some thought into your answer and provide
at least 4–5 sentences as you explain it.
(TCO 4) What is
the difference between moral and legal reasoning?
(TCO 4) In a true
legal argument, should legal reasoning or moral reasoning be
used?
(TCO 4) Mr.
Trident is arguing that the hospital has violated his 14th Amendment
right to due
process. What part of the 14th Amendment is he referring to in his
argument?
(TCO 4) Cruzan v.
Director, Missouri Department of Health is a case studied in
the right-to-die
debate. What precedent did it help to establish?
(TCO 4) How does
the Cruzan case factor into Mr. Trident’s argument?
