Suicide of Admiral Nimitz
Choose ONE of the following Ethics Problems and answer it to the very best of your ability. These questions are fairly complex, and will require a minimum of 4 full pages (double spaced, not including the title/header) pages to answer completely.
Chapter 9 – Is suicide always wrong? The suicide of Admiral Nimitz
Admiral Chester W. Nimitz Jr. was the son and namesake of the famous WWII naval hero Chester Nimitz. Admiral Nimitz Sr. was victorious in the historic battle of Midway. In this battle, his naval pilots sunk four of the aircraft carriers that led the attack on Pearl Harbor and effectively eliminated Japanese naval power as a major factor in the war.
Admiral Nimitz Jr. was also a hero, as a submarine commander. Tragically, his name made headlines years later when he and his wife ended their lives in a double suicide. Reportedly, the admiral’s final statement read:
Suicide of Admiral Nimitz
Our decision was made over a considerable period of time and was not carried out in acute depression. Nor is it the expression of mental illness. We have consciously, rationally, deliberately and of our own free will taken measures to end our lives today because of the physical limitations on our quality of life placed upon us by age, failing vision, osteoporosis, back and painful orthopedic problems.
He was 86 and his wife was 89 when they ended their lives with an overdose of sleeping pills.
The Nimitz’s had made it known at least a decade earlier that when the time came they would control their final days. The Admiral was in constant pain, had lost 30 pounds due to gastrointestinal complications, and was suffering from congestive heart disease. He could no longer drive, and his vision was failing. Nimitz’s wife was blind, and had no desire to live alone.
Suicide of Admiral Nimitz
It is reported that neither believed in God or an afterlife, and they had no religious affiliation. Does old age make suicide ethical? Was Admiral Nimitz justified in his decision to end his own life? Is suicide always wrong? Provide reasons for your point of view. APA.