Bioethics and Medical Ethics Commons^™

The Ethical Considerations Of Physician-Assisted Suicide, Madeline Jordan

Dialogue & Nexus

With respect to physician-assisted suicide, several approaches to adjudicate an ethical position can be processed from the theories of utilitarianism, Kantian deontology, and virtue ethics. This paper will explore these three positions with respect to physician-assisted suicide and the pros and cons of each. In conclusion, based on my research and Christian beliefs, I will define why I reside with virtue ethics and why it leads me to a position that is against physician-assisted suicide at this particular point in my life.

Christian And Islamic Perspectives On The Ethical Dilemma Of In Vitro Fertilization (Ivf), Stephanie Sariles

Dialogue & Nexus

After defining IVF procedures and the associated biomedical ethics with each, I will compare and contrast Christian and Islamic perspectives on IVF. Christianity in general does not accept IVF, because it is an unnatural method of reproduction that can affect Christian traditions such as parenthood and marriage. Despite this view, Protestants, in particular, have opened up to IVF as a method for treating infertility. Islam fully accepts IVF provided the married couple follows Islamic law. Sunni Muslims do not accept gamete donation, but Shi’ite Muslims are more flexible with gamete donation and surrogacy.

Gadgets And Grieving: A Chronological Analysis On The Ways In Which Advancements In Medical Technologies Have Altered The Grieving Process, Grace Mcnair

Dialogue & Nexus

Since the 1940s, both end-of-life care and advancements in medical technologies have expanded exponentially. This article explores the advancements in medical technologies and how these have altered the way that Western society grieves death. With the capabilities to prolong life, the family, the patient, and the medical team, all grieve the end of life in different ways. This article provides a chronological analysis of palliative care, hospice care, and various medical advancements. These changes in medicine are then paralleled with alterations in the bereavement process. This article explores historical narratives of Western society’s transformation of grief through the lens of …

An Ethical Evaluation Of The Modern Pharmaceutical Industry, Kaitlyn Drennan

Dialogue & Nexus

Lack of transparency, wrongdoings, and unlawful promotion characterize the healthcare industry; these are especially prevalent within the pharmaceutical industry. Consequently, an investigation into the evidence of the corruption and the ethical infringement is needed. In this paper, I will evaluate the pharmaceutical industry’s adherence to the three major branches of ethics. The ever-increasing prices of pharmaceutical products, especially medications used for the combating of anaphylaxis and cancer, coupled with the compensatory-based medication promotion and research points to a major crisis in the realm of social justice. These examples, among many other current issues, lead to difficulties in individuals receiving the …

Ethical Concerns For Assisted Reproductive Technologies, Olga Najera

Dialogue & Nexus

The development of assisted reproductive technologies has provided new options for infertile couples in their pursuit of parenthood. As a result of the successful implementation of in vitro fertilization (IVF), gestational surrogacy is now an alternative. Other technology, such as genetic enhancement, could potentially become available for human beings soon; however, numerous ethical concerns have been raised by the fact that it requires germline engineering. The concerns brought about by these new reproductive technologies will be addressed in light of the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and of the following ethical theories: Kantian, evolutionary, utilitarian, and virtue ethics.

An Analysis Of Altruism, Sarah Siemens

Dialogue & Nexus

Scientists, freethinkers, and philosophers have attempted to find an explanation of the role of altruism in a natural world that is compatible to the dominantly accepted Darwinian principle of natural selection. Many postulates have been developed in an attempt to explain how self-sacrificial behaviors are cohesive within the “survival of the fittest” ideology. This has caused many scientists to broaden the definition of altruism to understand its components in the physical world. In order to understand how absolute altruism is solely found through God’s love, it is necessary to examine each subset of scientific altruism to reveal their differences. None …

The Problem Of Suffering: Universal Health Coverage As A Partial Solution, Christen Scaggs

Dialogue & Nexus

Universal Health Coverage is evaluated from a Christian Biblical perspective and found that it meets an appropriate standard of service to the poor. Christians should consider its benefits and drawbacks compared to doing nothing. The issue of diminished access to healthcare, burdensome medical costs, reduced coverage, and discrimination against impoverished individuals with specific regards to healthcare are all conquerable challenges.

End Of Life Care For The Incarcerated, Codie Robinson

Dialogue & Nexus

As the prison population ages, a new need has come to light – caring for those who are in the final stage of life. This paper will examine the current end of life services provided to those in prison throughout the United States. After a general awareness of the system is presented, a more complete discussion of end of life care for prisoners will be considered, in light of ethics, social justice, and the Christian perspective. The two care options presented, hospice care and compassionate release, are observed through these lenses. In order to make a decision on how to …

Volume 3 Editorial, Daniel Brannan

Dialogue & Nexus

No abstract provided.

The Ethical Viability Of In Vitro Fertilization, Jack Hamilton

Dialogue & Nexus

In vitro fertilization is considered from multiple ethical positions and whether or not it is limited to disease prevention or used for genetic enhancement. The first can be in line with most ethical theories provided time and resources are allowed for the technology to be provided for all. The latter seems to devalue humans and remove compassion for the disenfranchised.

Passive Euthanasia, Jennifer Hulett, Madeline Peterson

Dialogue & Nexus

The controversy of passive euthanasia (e.g. the withholding or withdrawing of life-sustaining treatments in patients that are either disabled or terminally ill) has been long-debated because, it has been argued, passive euthanasia violates the physician’s Hippocratic Oath to do no harm to the patient. This withholding or withdrawal can include one or more of the following: ventilators, feeding tubes, and life support. In this paper we will explore the major debate points of passive euthanasia in light of four ethical theories: utilitarianism, virtue ethics, Kantian, and evolutionary ethics.

The Unifying Power Of Education, Keagan Potts, Jenji Learn

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

• Without Expertise or Experience: Philosophizing When Your Students Know You Know Nothing
• Segregated Students — Segregated Society: The Primacy of Education in Ending Hate
• Combatting Emerging Resegregation: Teaching Those in Power to Empower

A Survey Of Ethics Training In Undergraduate Psychology Programs At Jesuit Universities, Thomas G. Plante, Selena Pistoresi

Psychology

Training in ethics is fundamental in higher education among both faith-based and secular colleges and universities, regardless of one’s academic major or field of study. Catholic colleges and universities have included moral philosophy, theology, and applied ethics in their undergraduate curricula for generations. The purpose of this investigation was to determine what, if anything, Jesuit college psychology departments are doing to educate psychology majors regarding ethical issues. A survey method was used to assess the psychology departments of all 28 Jesuits colleges and universities in the United States. A total of 21 of the 28 schools responded and completed the …

The Wooden Doctrine: Basketball, Moral Character, And The Successful Life, Janelle Dewitt

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

No abstract provided.

Crispr Humans: Ethics At The Edge Of Science, Insoo Hyun

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

No abstract provided.

Fuzzy Logic In Health Care Settings: Moral Math For Value-Laden Choices, Sarah Voss

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

This essay is intended as an example of “moral math”, i.e., ideas culled from mathematics which can positively impact social behavior. Specifically, it combines fuzzy logic with the ethical decisions which hospital staff and others are sometimes forced to make about health care (e.g., euthanasia issues following Hurricane Katrina). The assumption is that such decisions involve value-laden choices which lend themselves to “fuzzy” or “smart” protocols. The article discusses the history of fuzzy logic – what it is, how it is used, and how it might be even better-used as a support basis for making difficult choices …

Unconfessing Transgender: Dysphoric Youths And The Medicalization Of Madness In John Gower’S “Tale Of Iphis And Ianthe”, M W. Bychowski

Accessus

On the brink of the twenty-first century, Judith Butler argues in “Undiagnosing Gender” that the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) defines the psychiatric condition of “Gender Identity Disorder” (or “Gender Dysphoria”) in ways that control biological diversity and construct “transgender” as a marginalized identity. By turning the study of gender away from vulnerable individuals and towards the broader systems of power, Butler works to liberate bodies from the medical mechanisms managing difference and precluding potentially disruptive innovations in forms of life and embodiment by creating categories of gender and disability.

Turning to the brink of the 15 …

Morality And The Extra-Medical Use Of Drugs, Jerry Schik O.S.C.

Obsculta

Nota bene - The following is one of three major papers written forty-five years ago as a requirement for the Master of Arts in Theology degree. The author has revisited the topic in an addendum attached to this article to consider how the moral theologian can view extra-medical marijuana use in the twenty-first century. Originally written in 1971 at http://digitalcommons.csbsju.edu/sot_papers/594/

Review Of "Beyond The Abortion Wars". By Charles Camosy, M. Therese Lysaught

Institute of Pastoral Studies: Faculty Publications and Other Works

No abstract provided.

The Germans And Their Nazi Past: To What Extent Have They Accepted Responsibility?, Martin Hille

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

No abstract provided.

Animal Mourning: Précis Of How Animals Grieve (King 2013), Barbara J. King

Animal Sentience

Abstract: When an animal dies, that individual’s mate, relatives, or friends may express grief. Changes in the survivor’s patterns of social behavior, eating, sleeping, and/or of expression of affect are the key criteria for defining grief. Based on this understanding of grief, it is not only big-brained mammals like elephants, apes, and cetaceans who can be said to mourn, but also a wide variety of other animals, including domestic companions like cats, dogs, and rabbits; horses and farm animals; and some birds. With keen attention placed on seeking where grief is found to occur and where it is absent …

Clinically Integrated Networks: A Cooperation Analysis, M. Therese Lysaught

Institute of Pastoral Studies: Faculty Publications and Other Works

This analysis outlines key aspects that may be included in the infrastructure of clinically integrated networks. The paper then provides a moral analysis of these aspects using the principle of moral cooperation. While CINs may differ from each other in the details of how they are organized, the analysis concludes that clinically integrated networks, as a model, should pose no new problems from the perspective of Catholic teaching and may, in fact, provide a new answer to the challenges of partnering

with non-Catholic health care providers.

Vulnerability, Preventability, And Responsibility: Exploring Some Normative Implications Of The Human Condition, Daniel E. Wueste

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Presented March 17, 2015. Papers presented for the Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Western Michigan University.

Anorexia/Bulimia, Transcendence, And The Potential Impact Of Romanticized/Sexualized Death Imagery, Heather D. Schild

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Presented November 10, 2014. Papers presented for the Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Western Michigan University

Cura Personalis: A Healthcare Delivery Quandary At The End Of Life, George P. Smith Ii

Scholarly Articles

Holistic Medicine traces its provenance to the foundational value or chrism of the Society of Jesus of cura personalis which directs respect be given to all individuals and to their souls — especially whenever medical healing is required. Today, the notion of best patient care should include not merely attention to somatic issues of refractory pain management but, equally, to non-somatic or existential suffering. It is at the end-stage of life that palliative — as opposed to curative — care must be provided. When a condition is seen as medically futile, this Article advocates palliative or deep sedation — when …

Patient Preference For Physician Prayer In Medical Situations, Blaine Mahlon Schlawin

Honors Program Theses

As medical issues present themselves in an individual’s life, some may resort to religion and spirituality. Because health care providers care for the individual, these practitioners need to be aware of the connections that occur within the realm of spirituality and medicine. The overall purpose of this study was to examine the attitudes of physician use of prayer during medical visits in a sample of adults. Specifically, four research questions were examined: Overall, do patients want their physicians praying for them? Overall, do patients prefer a certain type of physician prayer (i.e., active, silent or physician distant intercessory prayer)? Does …

Journey Of A Peace Journalist, Robert Koehler

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Presented October 15, 2012. 2012 Winnie Veenstra Peace Lecture.

Knowledge, Wisdom, And Service: The Meaning And Teaching Of Professionalism In Medicine, Matthew K. Wynia

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Papers presented for the Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Western Michigan University. Presented September 29, 2011.

Update - February 2012, Loma Linda University Center For Christian Bioethics

Update

In this issue:

-- Cancer Stories: An Argument for Narrative Ethics
-- Dual-Degree Masters of Arts in Bioethics
-- From the Director
-- Finding a Voice for Seventh-day Adventist Ethics in the Radical Reformation?

Communication And The Pragmatic Condition, Gregory J. Shepherd

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Presented March 9, 2011