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Bioethics and Ethical Principle
Bioethics and Ethical Principle
Ethics
Ethics comes from the Greek word Ethos meaning characteristic way of acting and in Latin word Mos, morrs meaning way of acting. Ethics is a study of human acts or conduct from a moral perspective as to whether they are good or they are bad. We commonly associated ethics to customs, morals and etiquette and even used them interchangeably.
Customs are acts approved by a group or society. Etiquette social observance required by good breeding.
Ethics
is a practical and normative science, based on reason,
which studies human acts and provides norms for their goodness or badness Ethics deals with only human acts insofar as they performed with intellectual deliberation and freedom. Ethics is defined as the standards or principles of moral judgment or actions. It provides a methodical system in differentiating right from wrong basing on a certain belief.
Significance in Profession
Ethics reflects the standards that govern a proper conduct in a particular profession. For instance, the nurse on duty knows that she is obligated to act for the good of the client and to prevent any incident to harm the patient. This principle of doing no harm to the client is the intervention of knowing the ethics in nursing.
Parts of Ethics
Objectives of Ethics
To make clear to us why one act is better than another. To live an orderly social life. To appraise and criticize intelligently the moral conduct and ethical system. To seek the true value of life.
Bioethics
Bioethics
Is a relatively new term. It began to be discussed in the 1960s when such phrases as medical ethics and biomedical ethics. The term was originally coined in America Bios which means life and ethics. In philosophy it is a branch of ethics that is concerned with issues surrounding health care and the biological sciences. Biotechnology means the used of technology and microorganism and other biological material for technological purposes.
Importance of BioEthics
To provide awareness to the health team or workers of the dos and donts of medical practice. To enrich ones competence by understanding that the patient is a person and a holistic individual. This field of study was developed in countries that had to face many ethical challenges due to the bioscientific developments, but the same moral problem challenges us even in the Philippines. As medical interventions became more powerful, ethical problems associated to medical and health practices also grow.
Natural Law it is the eternal law as known to human through reason. It is nothing than the rational creatures participation in the eternal law of God and Human comes to the knowledge of this law by natural light of his/her reason. e.g. do good and avoid evil. (St. Thomas)
The reason why it is called Natural is because it is neither communicated in a supernatural way, nor a result of a command of a legislative or authority. The precept of natural law is found and derived for the very nature of human beings.
Immutability as soon as the human being has the capacity of using his/her reason, certain fundamental norms will become self-evident to humans. These fundamental norms are imprinted in human nature, so that they exist as long as human nature exists. The genuine commands and prohibitions of natural law cannot be changed.
Indispensability no one is dispended or excused in the observance of the natural law. Why? Because, the origin of natural law is God. Natural law is identical to Gods will. Evidently, human has no authority over a law of this status. This means that if there is dispensation of this law, there is a violation in Gods Law.
Violations:
Actions performed that constrain a persons capacity to make a decision. Ex. Not telling a patient the risks involved in an intervention recommended and therefore preventing him for properly weighing risks and benefits
Non-Violations:
A person expresses his autonomous wish to waive consent or delegate authority to others. Ex. A patient explicitly tell his physician to do whatever you think is best, and not expect to be asked permission for every procedure done.
Withdraw from the case and help the patient find another health professional who might be more successful in these situations when the health professional feels it is impossible to help the patient.
Principle of Justice
Justice, also termed fairness, means to give to each one what he deserves or what is his due.
Work toward just health care policies such as the delivery of minimum health care to all according to their needs.
Avoid giving undue burden to individuals: abusing the poor by using them as learning materials
Ethical Theories
Level of Moral Development
Preconvention dos and donts
Stage of Reasoning
Stage 1: (Punishment and Obedience Orientation). Right is obedience to power and avoidance of punishment. (I must follow the rules otherwise I will be punished). Stage 2: Instrumental Relativist Orientation. Right is taking responsibility and leaving others to be responsible for themselves. (I must follow the rules for the reward and favor it gives).
Conventional
Stage 3: Good-Boy-Nice Girl Orientation. Right is being considerate: adolescence uphold the values of other adolescents and adults rules of society. (I and adulthood must follow the rules so I will be accepted) Stage 4: Society-Maintaining Orientation. Right is being good, with the values and norms of family and society at large.(I must follow rules so there is order in the society).
Postconventional
Stage 5: Social Contract Reorientation. Right is finding inner universal rights balance between self-rights and societal rules a social contract.(I must follow rules as there are reasonable laws for it). Stage 6: Universal Ethical Principle orientation. Right is based on a higher order of applying principles to all human-kind; being nonjudgmental and respecting all human life.(I must follow rules because my conscience tells me).
after 20
TELEOLOGICAL
This describes an ethical theory which judges the rightness of an action in terms of an external goal or purpose. Teleological moral systems are characterized primarily by a focus on the consequences which any action might have (for that reason, they are often referred to as consequent list moral systems, and both terms are used here). Thus, in order to make correct moral choices, we have to have some understanding of what will result from our choices. When we make choices which result in the correct consequences, then we are acting morally; when we make choices which result in the incorrect consequences, then we are acting immorally
Teleological
Greek word: telos - end or purpose. It stresses the endresult or consequence of an act. Utilitarianism (Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill) The Principle of Utility Actions are good insofar as they tend to promote happiness, bad when they tend to promote unhappiness. The Principle of the Greatest Happiness An action is good (right) insofar as it produces the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people, bad(wrong) insofar as it produces more harm for the greatest number of individual. 1/6/2013 50
Deontology
Deontological moral systems are characterized primarily by a focus upon adherence to independent moral rules or duties. Thus, in order to make the correct moral choices, we simply have to understand what our moral duties are and what correct rules exist which regulate those duties. When we follow our duty, we are behaving morally. When we fail to follow our duty, we are behaving immorally.
a. Acts done in accord with duty b. Acts done from a sense of duty c. Categorical Imperatives:
1. Act only on that maxim which you can at the same time will to become a universal law. 2. Always act so as to treat humanity, either yourself or others, as an end and never as only a means.
Types of Duties: 1. Perfect duty that we must observe, irrespective of time and place, and circumstance. 2. Imperfect duty- we observe only on some occasions.
Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism is a theory in normative ethics holding that the proper course of action is the one that maximizes overall "happiness".
The END do not justify the MEANS The goodness of the intention then reflects the balance of the good and evil of these consequences
that governs certain actions that could/would bring benefits to many. Ex. Killing innocent people is immoral.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Duty of fidelity Duty of reparation Duty of gratitude Duty of Justice Duty of beneficence Duty of self-improvement Duty of non-maleficence
Rawls Theory
Synthesis of utilitarianism and deontological views
1.Theory of Justice
a. b. c. Every individual is inviolable- not even a general welfare of society can override and supersede it. Erroneous theory is tolerable in the absence of a good one. Individual liberty should be restricted in order to maintain equality of opportunities.
2. Principles of Justice
a. Equal access to the basic human rights and liberties. b. Fair equality of opportunity and the equal distribution of socio-economic inequalities.
Rawls Theory
3. Justice in Human Relations
Four Types of Duties: a. Fairness in our dealings with others. b. Fidelity c. Respect for persons d. Beneficence
Situation Ethics
Situation ethics is advocated by Joseph Fletcher . This ethical theory states that the moral norm depends upon a given situation, but whatever this situation may be, one must always act in the Bioethics- Prof. Chris Pelias Christian love. 60 name of
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Six Propositions
1. Love is intrinsically good. 2. Love is the ultimate norm of Christian decisions. 3. Love and justice are the same, for justice is love distributed. 4. Love wills the neighbour's good whether we like him or not. 5. Only the end justifies the means: nothing else. 6. Decisions ought to be made situationally, not prescriptively.
Thomistic Ethics
It is attributed to St. Thomas Aquinas, one of the founders of the Catholic Church, a scholar, and a religious saint. Aquinas looks at morality from the vantage point of the natural law. Morality has to obey the natural law, which governs moral reasoning (synderesis). Natural law is the order and harmony of things. For everything has a place in this world.
"Everyone is responsible for his life before God who has given it to him. It is God who remains the sovereign Master of life. We are obliged to accept life gratefully and preserve it for his honor and the salvation of our souls. We are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of." "Suicide contradicts the natural inclination of the human being to preserve and perpetuate his life. It is gravely contrary to the just love of self. It likewise offends love of neighbor because it unjustly breaks the ties of solidarity with family, nation, and other human societies to which we continue to have obligations. Suicide is contrary to love for the living God.
"If suicide is committed with the intention of setting an example, especially to the young, it also takes on the gravity of scandal." "Voluntary co-operation in suicide is contrary to the moral law." "Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide." "We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. The Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives."
Abortion
Abortion
expulsion of the fetus before it is viable; may be spontaneous or induced the most common bleeding disorder of early pregnancy Occur in 15-20% of recognized pregnancy
Age of Viability
Types of ABORTION
Natural Abortion
Threatened Abortion Imminent Abortion Complete Abortion Incomplete Abortion Missed Abortion Habitual Abortion
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The act or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals (as persons or domestic animals) in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy
Activity
A physicist who had done research on x-rays for thirty years was suffering terribly from skin cancer. Part of his jaw, his upper lips, nose and left hand were lost; growths had been removed from his right and two fingers from his right hands. He was blind and in constant and excruciating pain. Only surgery and continued suffering awaited the patient who the doctors felt had about a year to live. For months he pleaded with his three younger brother to put an end to his life. Eventually, the youngest, a man of 36 took a pistol and after an afternoon and early evening wandering and drinking in local bars, returned to the hospital during visiting hours and shoot his brother to death. What specific type of euthanasia was performed in thi case? Explain your answer. If you were the younger brother or sister, would you have done the same thing? Would you approve of the means employed or would you have preferre3d a more subtle, nonviolent and painless method? Justify your position.
The most realistic, beneficial and useful thing to do in a situation where recovery is nil, is to offer one's healthy organ to people who can still benefit from them. Why render them useless and allow them to die with the patient if others can still use then to continue living?
The word suicide comes from two Latin roots, sui (of oneself) and cidium (killing or slaying).i People have committed suicide in an endless variety of ways, including swallowing poisonous spiders, power-drilling holes in their heads, sticking hot pokers down their throats, choking on underwear, injecting peanut butter into their veins, crushing their necks in vices, and hurling themselves into vats of beer.b In China, someone takes his or her own life on average every two minutes. China accounts for nearly a quarter of the global total of suicides with between 250,000 and 300,000 suicides a year.b Among famous figures who committed suicide: Sigmund Freud, Cleopatra, Mark Antony, Brutus, Judas Iscariot, Hannibal, Nero, Virginia Wolf, Adolf Hitler, Ernest Hemmingway, Sylvia Plath, Vincent van Gogh, Jack London, Dylan Thomas, Judy Garland, Rudolph Hess, Pontius Pilate, Socrates, and possibly Tchaikovsky, Elvis Presley, and Marilyn Monroe.i It is more likely someone will die from suicide than from homicide. For every two people killed by homicide, three people die of suicide.b
Sterilization
is defined as the mutilation of sexual power of man of man or women so as to render conception impossible.