Double Edged Sword free essay sample

Double Edged Sword Alcohol can change a person’s life in an instant. One bad decision caused by drinking could lead up to someone losing their life. Sometimes people have second chances, but if they do not know how to take advantage of them, they might regret it later in life. I agree that Jake should not be able to get another liver transplant, is morally impermissible because of donor livers are extremely scarce and liver transplants are very expensive to perform. I propose that alcoholics who have done nothing to better their condition should be placed at the bottom of the waiting list for liver transplants. Alcoholics who have received treatment and improved their quality of life for a substantial period of time should be able to compete equally for liver transplants. I base my proposal on the considerations of fairness and distributive justice. Scarcity of donor livers forces us to make a decision in regards to who receives transplants and people who have liver damage due to no fault of their own should not be punished. We will write a custom essay sample on Double Edged Sword or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In society today people must be held accountable for their mistakes. I agree that we should not judge addicts or anybody’s choices, desires or actions because every person has the right to autonomy, and sometimes it is out of their control. â€Å"It is unfair or indeed punitive to exclude alcoholics from consideration for liver transplantation because of moral vice or an irresponsible lifestyle† (Glannon, 448). I understand that Glannon’s views are different than mine; he is explaining that sometimes people do not have control over certain diseases such as alcoholism, but I believe that patients who are still drinking alcohol should be held responsible for their behavior. If Jack has already received a liver transplant he should be in the bottom waiting list because he is not doing anything to help himself to get better. â€Å"Alcoholics should be given lower priority for a new liver because their moral vice of heavy drinking makes them responsible for their condition and effectively forfeit their claim to medical treatment† (Glannon, 447). Agreeing with this moral argument I think Jack should not get the liver because other people might need it more than he does. There is not always a second chance, which is why people should value their life and take good care of it. Liver transplantation is sometimes the only treatment for people with acute or chronic liver disease that is progressive, life-threatening and unable to be successfully treated with other therapies such as medications. Fortunately, the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) determines who is in most critical need of a liver transplant. What if after Jack comes a child that needs a liver too? I oppose giving a liver to Jack. He knowingly destroyed his liver, and will probably do it again. A child has a life in front of him/her, and had no choice in needing a new liver. Any adult knows about the effects of alcohol on the body. If he chose to destroy his liver what makes you think he would not do it again? Then the liver would go to waste, when it could have saved a childs life. Jack is a person with active alcohol abuse problems; he may continue living the unhealthy lifestyle that contributed to his damage. Transplantation would only result in failure of the newly transplanted liver. By drinking too much alcohol at any age, people can dig themselves into holes of trouble that can cause long term consequences. Effects of alcohol on the body are tremendous and can be equally as deadly. Alcoholism is a progressive disease and eventually one aspect or another of an alcoholics body will simply give out from the abuse. . Work Cited Walter Glannon. â€Å"Responsibility, Alcoholism, and Liver Transplantation†. Contemporary Bioethics: a Reader with Cases. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010. Print.