Natural Sciences TOK
what ethical thinking constrains the methods used?
doctor - patient confidentiality (benef/malef)
how has the history of this area led to its current form?
FGM
if a doctor comes across a patient that has been mutilated in the past, they are bound by rules of patient confidentiality which prevent them from contacting prosecutors or the police
four pillars of medical ethics
autonomy
justice
beneficence
non maleficence
this is the capacity of the patient of thinking and making decisions
full infos must be given to the patient in order for him to make his decision
the doctor should respect the decision of the patient or of his leagl representatives, even if it seems medically wrong
promoting what is best for the patient
this definition may vary according to the personal wishes of the patient (autonomy) and the opinion of the health professional
At times, beneficence can imply not intervening
no harm should be done
in most treatments, it will involve some degree of risk, so the doctors should ponder the possibilities
do the benefits outweigh the potential harm?
medicine has a history of harming patients
all people in similar medical situations should receive the same degree of care
physicians should not release any kind of information about their patient in order to protect their privacy
however, in some ases the doctors are obligated to inform the authorities about the patient's condition (STD, HIV)
still, this has to be done in a way that harms the patient minimally
As the American College of Physicians says: "Errors do not necessarily constitute improper, negligent, or unethical behavior, but failure to disclose them may."
in some cases, the doctor may choose if he wants to disclose certain info
the patient does not want to be informed
the patient is incapacitated
patient is unstable at the time but imediate care is required
therapeutic privilege
the bad outweighs the good of informing the patient about his condition
informed consent
the patient must be aware of any medical interention
ethical dilemmas
doctors that refuse to complete a procedure (such as abortion) in a place where it's legal due to personal beliefs
would you perform an abortion, even if it were against your own beliefs?
is it acceptable to break patient confidentiality if his/her condition is harmful to others?
Jehovah's witnesses
this religion condemns blood transfusions under any circumstances, claiming that it goes against the will of God and the sayings of the Bible
doctors may find themselves in emergencial situations that require a blood transfuse to a JW
if the physician sticks to the principles of the patient and this person ends up dying because of the transfuse that wasn't done, the doctor might be sued for "Failure to rescue"
would you go against the wishes of the patient in an emergencial situation if he were a Jehovah's Witness?
cases of STD in which the parter can be affected
homicidal plans victimizing one specific person revealed to a physician or a psychiatrist
state law requires the report of certain communicable/infectious diseases to the public health authorities
should physician-assisted suicide be allowed in certain situations?
the pain of living must outweigh death of the patient
each situation in a particular case, and the background of the patient and his medical conditions must be carefully studied
certains degenerative diseases
DNAR (autonomy)
DNR
the do not attempt resuscitation order is an order emitted by the doctor with full consent of the patient that he/she does not want to be resuscitated
tests the role of patient autonomy
if the patient is for some reason unable to make this decision, there are two ways he/she can make use of the DNAR order
advance directives
this determines what sort of medical care you would like to become if you ever find yourself unable to make decisions
through this document, the patient may wish to not be resuscitated
surrogate decision maker
a person determined by legal hierarchy (changes from one region to the other) to make decisions for the patient when he/she is unable to
they can also ask for a DNAR
in certain situations, resurrection might not be the best option
it might not be successful
surviving the resuscitation might lead to the prolongation of the suffering
when downside of the resurrection outweighs the benefits, the doctor is allowed to a DNAR order
however, the patient and/or their family still have a role in the decision
hippocrates - the father of medicine (5th century BC)
ethics
expresses the way in which we explore the moral life
moral obligations of health professionals in a world of technology and promise
he swears by apollo to
teach others the art of medicine
not give a lethal drug to anyone who wants it
don't abort
never harm anyone
will only enter a house for the good of his patients
will keep secret
he swears it based on his ethical opinions
does not have acknowledgement of the patient's rights
does not deal with welfare of society or of others
unimed
Thomas Percival
expanded hippocratic focus to emphasize the professional responsability
2WW
experimentation on humans with our their consent
do the ends justify the means?
stem cells
creation of the Nuremberg code (1947)
is it ethical to use and study the data collected from the concentration camps?
yes
no
might bring solutions to many things (controversial)
disrespects the victims
question the validity of the medical experiment
bioethics in 1971
ethical dimensions of medicine and the biological sciences
Which ways of knowing do the natural scientists themselves use in order to study natural sciences and communicate their understanding of it?
test in animals
reason
emotion
it causes suffering to animals
the benefits to human beings are not proven
any benefits to human beings that animal testing does provide could be produced in other ways
suffering is minimised in all experiments
human benefits are gained which could not be obtained by using other methods
92 percent of all drugs that are shown to be safe and effective in animal tests fail in human trials because they don’t work or are dangerous.
“The history of cancer research has been a history of curing cancer in the mouse. We have cured mice of cancer for decades and it simply didn’t work in humans.”
facts
between 2011-2014, almost half a million animals were subjected to pain experiments without pain relief
laboratories don't provide the natural habitats that the animals are used to
mines in standart labs suffer from anxiety and sometimes depression
produce and test vaccines using human tissues, and perform pregnancy tests using blood samples instead of killing rabbits.
the rabbit test
human chorionic gonadotropin hormone, or hCG it's the hormone which shows whether the woman is pregnant or not
to discover whether the woman was pregnant or not, they put the hCG in the rabit
then, they discovered that this hormone made the rabbit to ovulate
but not only the hCG, actually it was the urine, where this hormone was
if the rabbit died, the woman was pregnant. if he didn't, she wasn't
pretend this child is yours. “Animals are here for humans to use. If we have to sacrifice 1,000 animals in the hope of benefiting one child, it’s worth it.”
ethics dictate, however, that every life is preciou
to show this, firstly show the normal quote. most of the people will disagree. afterwards, say that this child is yours. see the results.