Doesn’t have to be in a certain format. Should be detailed a
Doesn’t have to be in a certain format. Should be detailed as possible. As one of my former teachers used to say, “This test is an open-book, open-note, open-mind writing experience.” It is not, however, a collaborative experience. You may not consult another person in writing this exam. Please answer both questions, writing no more than a grand total of 2500 words, distributed as you see fit among them. You may spend as much time as you wish working on the exam, but you must submit it via Canvas by noon on Friday 14 December.When in Rome, What Will the Doctors Do? Piergiorgio Welby, 60, of Rome, Italy, was suffering from the late stages of muscular dystrophy. He had been confined to bed for several years, and now he was mostly paralyzed, barely able to move his lips and eyebrows. He required a feeding tube and respirator to live, and communicated through a voice synthesizer. He appealed to Italy’s president and to the courts to remove his respirator. “My dream…my desire, my request – which I want to put to any authority, from political to judicial ones – is today in my mind more clear and precise than ever: being able to obtain euthanasia.” He described his life as torture. A judge rejected Welby’s request to be removed from the respirator, ruling that Italian law does not permit denial of life-sustaining care. While Welby does have a constitutional right to halt his treatment, Italy’s medical code requires doctors to maintain the lives of patients. Welby’s doctor said that if the respirator were removed, he would be obligated to reattach it. Also rejecting Welby’s plea were the Italian Health Council and the Vatican. The Health Council said that a respirator is not “extraordinary means” of keeping a gravely or terminally ill patient alive, and so need not be removed. Its opinion, however, is not binding on physicians. Then-Pope Benedict XVI stated that life was sacred until its “natural sunset,” and so removing the respirator would be morally wrong. A few days after the judge’s ruling, anesthesiologist Dr. Mario Riccio traveled from the northern city of Cremona to Rome and removed the respirator. Dr. Riccio said, “I got to know Piergiorgio Welby on Monday, we had a long talk, where he confirmed fully his will that the therapy be interrupted.” Dr. Riccio administered sedation simultaneously with the removal of the respirator. “This must not be mistaken for euthanasia,” he said. “It is a suspension of therapies. Refusing of treatments is a right.” Dr. Riccio said that he did not fear legal consequences for his actions, because “in Italian hospitals therapies are suspended all the time, and this does not lead to any intervention from magistrates or to problems of conscience.” Nevertheless, Italy was divided by Dr. Riccio’s actions. The Catholic Church would not permit Welby’s family to hold a Catholic funeral. And although Dr. Riccio had many supporters, he was investigated for murder. Prosecutors asked that the charges be dismissed, but the judge refused. An appeals court, however, ruled Welby had the right to refuse artificial respiration, and Dr. Riccio had nothing to answer for.Write an essay analyzing the above case. Address the following items, in whatever order you see fit, and support your view using course material from readings and lecture. While there is no need for extensive quotations from readings, you should make explicit reference authors and their views.Do you think that the respirator constituted obligatory (ordinary) or optional (extraordinary) care for Welby? Did Welby’s life reach its “natural sunset?” Is a respirator like ANH? How might arguments regarding ANH be relevant in this case?Drawing upon moral principles, methods, and/or theories, do you think that Dr. Riccio’s actions were ethically acceptable? How do you think three of the following authors would evaluate Welby’s request and Dr. Riccio’s participation: Magnusson, Singer, Keown, Sacred Congregation, Gill, and Wolf.Do you find the authors persuasive?Do you agree with Dr. Riccio that removing the respirator was not euthanasia? Do you think that active euthanasia would have been appropriate in this case?The moonlighting resident and emergency contraception It is the middle of the night in the emergency department of a small urban hospital. The doctor staffing the ER is a third-year resident who is “moonlighting” – he works different emergency departments and urgent care clinics around the area during his off hours, in order to bring in extra income. On this night, a woman comes in who has been beaten and raped. The standard protocol for a rape victim in this hospital includes, among other things, offering emergency contraception. Emergency contraceptives such as Plan B, taken within about 72 hours of intercourse, can often prevent an unwanted pregnancy. This particular resident, however, does not follow protocol and does not offer the patient any emergency contraception. He doesn’t mention emergency contraception at all. The woman returns to the hospital four days later for a follow-up visit with a doctor and a nurse-counselor. In talking to the woman, the nurse-counselor discovers that emergency contraception was not offered or discussed. The nurse complains to hospital administrators about the moonlighting resident, and asks that he no longer be allowed to work in the hospital. The resident is asked to appear in front of the hospital board and the medical ethics committee. He readily agrees, and during this meeting he articulately defends his behavior. He says that he objects to the use of emergency contraceptives on moral grounds. In his view, emergency contraception is a form of abortion, since the drugs prevent a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterus, thus causing the developing egg to die. He believes that even telling a patient that emergency contraception is an option is tantamount to suggesting that murder is an option. A survey of physicians by Farr Curlin and colleagues published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that 63% believe it is acceptable for physicians to explain their moral objections to patients; most believe that physicians must disclose all options to a patient (86%) and refer the patient to another physician (71%). About half of the physicians surveyed reported objections to abortion for failed contraception, and 42% reported objections to contraception for adolescents without parental consent. “If physicians’ ideas translate into their practices, then 14% of patients – more than 40 million Americans – may be cared for by physicians who do not believe they are obligated to disclose information about medically available treatments they consider objectionable.” Curlin and colleagues also concluded, “Physicians who were male, those who were religious, and those who had personal objections to morally controversial clinical practices were less likely to report that doctors must disclose information about or refer patients for medical procedures to which the physician objected on moral grounds.”You are a consultant for the hospital ethics committee. Please write an essay analyzing the above case, addressing the following items, in whatever order you see fit. Support your analysis using course materials from readings and lecture, including moral theories, methods, and principles. (Again, there is no need for extensive quotations from readings, but you should make explicit reference authors and their views.)Is the hospital’s standard protocol of offering emergency contraception to rape victims ethical? Why or why not?Based upon their views of abortion, how would Catholicism and one other religious tradition (Judaism, Islam, or Buddhism) assess the hospital protocol?What responsibilities do physicians and patients have regarding diagnosis and treatment?In this case, is the physician’s personal morality in tension with his professional responsibilities? If so, how should these be prioritized? May health professionals refuse to provide treatments to which they object on moral or religious grounds? Why or why not? If they may, what responsibilities do they have, if any?Was the resident’s behavior morally acceptable? Why or why not?Should the physician continue to work at the hospital’s ER?
Collepals.com Plagiarism Free Papers
Are you looking for custom essay writing service or even dissertation writing services? Just request for our write my paper service, and we'll match you with the best essay writer in your subject! With an exceptional team of professional academic experts in a wide range of subjects, we can guarantee you an unrivaled quality of custom-written papers.
Get ZERO PLAGIARISM, HUMAN WRITTEN ESSAYS
Why Hire Collepals.com writers to do your paper?
Quality- We are experienced and have access to ample research materials.
We write plagiarism Free Content
Confidential- We never share or sell your personal information to third parties.
Support-Chat with us today! We are always waiting to answer all your questions.
