The Nurse Is Assigned to Provide Care to an Unconscious

The nurse is assigned to provide care to an unconscious, mechanically ventilated patient who is receiving palliative treatment. The patient is receiving an intravenous morphine infusion. The primary care provider's orders include discontinuing the patient's mechanical ventilation and increasing the morphine infusion rate, as needed, to maintain the patient's comfort. The nurse refuses to implement the orders based on a belief that implementing the orders would be equivalent to killing the patient. The nurse's decision illustrates which concept?

A) Ethical agency
B) Morals
C) Bioethics
D) Clinical decision making