Of all living beings only man knows that he will die sometime,

somehow, and somewhere

NO PERSON CAN DIE PROXY

At the moment an individual is born, his journey towards death

begins
 As one becomes old and grows weaker and weaker, he will
ultimately end up his journey.

AS FILIPINOS WOULD PUT IT,

“ANUMANG SIMULA AY MAYROON DING KATAPUSAN”

 Death appears to be simple and natural as we may think of it, but the
scientific advance we have initiated and the technological culture in which we live
have raised a host of questions and problems with respect to death.

To redefine here means to know or to be able to determine the exact

point in time when a person is dead.
Firstly: There is a widespread and increasing use of
new devices for prolonging life.

Element of Moral Issue involved:

With the use of these life-sustaining devices,

we are able to prolong life for a considerable
period, or even to save a person’s life from
impending death
If we can only determine the exact point in time when a person is
dead, with or without the use of life maintaining machines, then
there is no need to attach the dying person to these devices for
three obvious reasons:

1. To avoid paying the numerous expenses to be incurred.

2. To eliminate the suffering of the dying individual – to prolong one’s suffering in this
context seems to do more harm than good, which is contrary to the principle of
beneficence or non-maleficence.

3. To be able to use these life-support machines for patients who have better chances of
survival, most especially if the demand to use them is greater than the supply.
Secondly: There is a great demand for cadaver
organs for transplantations

The chances of successful organic

transplant are higher if the required organ is
removed from the cadaver immediately after
death, usually in terminal cases.
1. PHYSIOLOGICAL DEFINITION

A person is dead when the heart has stopped

beating.

2. RELIGIOUS OR PHILOSOPHICAL DEFINITION

Death means the separation of soul and body.

 3. BRAIN DEATH DEFINITION

This refers to “A condition in which the brain is

completely destroyed, and in which the
cessation of function of all other organs are
imminent and inevitable.”

4. CELLULAR DEFINITION

This refers to the disintegration and breakdown

of the metabolic processes of the body’s
substance.
Despite their various criteria & formulation, the
foregoing definitions have one thing in common:

DEATH is the cessation of life; the total

arrest of both intellectual and physiological
functions in an individual; total ceasing of
the circulation of blood and of all vital
functions, such as respiration and pulsation.