Quality of a human act

Morality “how we ought to live” and why –

words of Socrates

Any definition that goes beyond

Socrates words is bound to offend one
and another of the many rival theories
regarding what it means to live
morally
 The act must be
good in itself
Parameters
to determine
that human
act is The act must be
good in its end.
morally good

The circumstances
other than the
end must be good
 performed by a person with full
knowledge or intelligence and on
his/her own volition and free
will.
Affected by the: (1) knowledge,
(2) freedom, and (3)
voluntariness
Human act
Absence of the 3 factors will NOT
qualify an act as human act
(actus humanus), but rather, an
act of human (actus hominis)
BIOETHICS
 Bioethics is used interchangeably
BIOETHICS? with medical ethics

Bioethics involves the basic

concerns of human beings and
WHAT IS

their close relationship with other

organisms

Bioethics is a combination of
ethical theory and various
disciplines.
BASIC BIOETHICAL PRINCIPLES

Stewardship Totality Double effect Principle of

principle principle principle cooperation
 • Steward has the obligation to
Stewardship take good care and improve
a thing entrusted to him/her.
Principle
Totality
Principle
Parts of the
physical entity, as
parts, are ordained
to the good of the
physical whole.
 The patient should have a serious
need that can be satisfied by organ
donation

Summary
Even if donation reduces “anatomical
integrity, it should not diminish the
functional integrity” of the person
of moral The risk in donation as “an act of
teachings charity is proportionate to the good
resulting for the recipient”

There should be “free and informed

consent” by the donor.
 • It is permissible to cause harm
as a side effect (or “double
effect”) of bringing about a
good result even though it
Double would not be permissible to
Effect cause such harm as a means
to bringing about the same
Principle good end.
Conditions in applying Double Effect
Principle

That the
action in itself That the good
from its very effect and not
object be good the evil effect
or at least be intended
indifferent

That there be
That the good
a
effect be not
proportionatel
produced by
y grave reason
means of the
for permitting
evil effect
the evil effect
Principle of • A bioethical concept that differentiates the
action of the wrongdoer from the action of
Cooperation the cooperator
Types of Principle of
Cooperation

Formal Cooperation= Willing

participation on the part of the
cooperative agent in the sinful act of
the principal agent

Material Cooperation= The

cooperator does not intend the
object of the wrongdoer’s activity but
actively participating in the deed by
which the evil is performed.
Major Bioethical
Principles
• Principle of Respect for
Autonomy
• Principle of Beneficence
• Principle of Non-
maleficence
• Principle of Justice
Principle of
respect for
Autonomy
Entails that health care
professionals should
respect the autonomous
decisions of competent
adults
Principle of
Beneficence

Holds that
health care
should aim to
do good
 Requires that
Principle of health-care
Non- professionals
should do no
maleficence harm.
Holds that health-
care professionals
should act fairly
when the interests Principle of
of different Justice
individuals or
groups are in
competition
Types of principle of Justice

Comparative justice refers to balancing

the competing interests of individual
and group against one another

Distributive justice refers to the fair

distribution of health-care services to
all
Official professional Ethics for Medical Technology

Enacted on
Revised
March 7,
version
1997
 As I enter into the practice of Medical Technology,

I shall:

Accept Uphold Act in Accept Perform Share

accept the uphold the law act in the spirit of accept perform my task share my
responsibilities and shall not fairness to all and employment with full knowledge and
inherent to being participate in in a spirit of from more than confidence, expertise with
professional; illegal work; brotherhood one employer absolute my colleagues;
toward other only when there reliability, and
members of the is no conflict of accuracy;
profession; interest;
As I enter into the practice of
Medical Technology, I shall:
Contribute to the advancement of the professional
organization and other health allied organizations;

Restrict my praises, criticisms, views, and opinions within

constructive limits;

Treat any information I acquired in the course of my work as

strictly confidential;

Uphold the dignity and respect of my profession and conduct

myself a reputation of reliability, honesty, and integrity;
As I enter into the
practice of Medical
Technology, I
shall:
• Be dedicated to the use of clinical
laboratory science to promote life
and benefit mankind;
• Report any violation of the above
principles of the professional conduct
to authorized agency and to the
ethics committee of the organization

To these principles, I hereby subscribe

and pledge to conduct myself at all
times in a manner befitting the dignity
of my profession.
Liabilities of Medical
Technologists

Negligence vs.
Imprudence
Res ipsa loquitur

Criminal liabilities
imprudence negligence
• Indicates deficiency • Deficiency of perception
of action • Fails to pay proper
• Fails to take attention and to use
due diligence in
necessary precaution foreseeing the injury or
to avoid injury to a damage about to occur
person • Usually involves lack of
• Usually involves lack foresight
of skill
Res Ipsa Loquitur

• “the thing speaks for itself”

• It means “where the thing which causes injury is
shown to be under the management of the offender,
and the accident is such as in the ordinary course of
things does not happen if those who have the
management use proper care, it affords reasonable
evidence, in the absence of an explanation b the
offender, that the accident arose from want of care
 If medical
technologist
Criminal liabilities commits or
omits an act
treated by the
law as a crime.
 1. Destruction of life
• Abortion
• Euthanasia and assisted
Well-Worn
Bioethical suicide
Issues
2. Sustaining life
• Withholding life support
• Organ transplantation
 Natural causes
(spontaneous abortion or
miscarriages)
Overt acts ( intentional or
ABORTION

unintentional)
FORMS OF

Personal reasons (elective)

Medical reasons
(therapeutic abortions)
 ACTIVE
EUTHANA
SIA
PASSIVE
ACTIVE
EUTHANA medical practitioner performs a
positive act or introduces an agent
SIA that results in the ultimate death
of a dying patient

Performed with or without consent

of the dying patient
• Without consent: act of medical
practitioner to override the autonomy and
willingness of a dying patient
• With consent: medical practitioner gives
assistance to a patient who wants to
commit suicide to end his life/suffering
 Death of a dying patient is
brought about by the non-
introduction of medical
measures to preserve life.
EUTHANASIA

Impliedly recognized in health

PASSIVE

care settings as

• DNR (do not resuscitate)

• NC orders ( No Code)
• WT ( withholding or withdrawing
treatments)
ORGAN
TRANSPLANTATION
• Autograph or autotransplant
- Tissue transplanted from one part of the
body to another in the same individual
• Allograph or homograph
-transplant of an organ or tissue from one
individual to another
• Xenograph or heterograph
- A surgical graft of tissue from animals to
humans