Question

4. What is medical ethics (a.k.a. bioethics, biomedical ethics)? 5. What are the four (4) core ethical principles used in bioethical decision making? Please identify, define and explain each one. 6. The documentary "Dax's Case" is typically part of the bloethles curriculum and discourse. Why? What does it teach us about medical ethics? 7. In Dax's Case, do the "ends" justify the "means"? Why or why not. ^ © A

Answer 1

ETHICS:The field of ethics studies principles of right and wrong.

MEDICAL ETHICS:The branch of ethics that examines questions of moral right and wrong arising in the context of the practice of medicine. This ethics help the doctor to do decision making at the time of treating a patient in a difficult situation.

        4 CORE ETHICAL PRINCIPLE :

1.AUTONOMY

2.BENEFICENCE

3.NON-MALEFICENCE

4.JUSTICE

• Autonomy: People have the right to control over their bodies. The patient can refuse or accept treatments, drugs, and surgeries according to their wish. And these decisions must be respected by everyone, even if those decisions aren’t in the best interest of the patient.

• Beneficence: All healthcare providers must strive to improve their patient’s health, to do the most good for the patient in every situation. But what is good for one patient may not be good for another, so each situation should be considered individually. And other values that might conflict with beneficence may need to be considered.

• Non-maleficence: “First, do no harm” In every situation, healthcare providers should avoid causing harm to their patients. You should also be aware of the doctrine of double effect, where a treatment intended for good unintentionally causes harm. This doctrine helps you make difficult decisions about whether actions with double effects can be undertaken.

• Justice: you should try to be as fair as possible when offering treatments to patients and with medical resources. You should be able to justify your actions in every situation.

In Dax;s case documentary we can see the patient is in suffer of pain and the doctors may have felt Dax was not in his right mind due to the pain he was in. Two different psychiatrists determined he was of sound mind and mentally competent to make decisions. In the starting days Dax was allowed to refuse a surgery but he was not allowed to refuse the chlorine baths and dressing changes. Dax's consent not his mother’s was used for the surgery, Dax makes his case for wanting to die not to have any surgeries.

             As we saw the princilples of ethics AUTONOMY the petient has right to refuse the treatment,Dax has followed the same right here.In the case of doctors, principle BENEFICENCE was used so doctors tried to understand the patients situation and proceeded the treatment.

Dax always refused the treatment and argues against the application of this theory in this case. He suffered a lot of pain because other people believed in this idea.

So at the 'end' by this we can say that this theory is justified when we think as a medical team understanding the hard situation of the patient, we saved his life and brought out from pain and death valued the principles, and if we see on the patient's side it does not justifies at that time which he in very bad situation in the hospitalization,but later he is better,

Although Dax characterizes his present life as a happy and fulfilled one, he yet insists that he should have been allowed to die while those close to him express gratitude that he did not.