08 September 2003
What the clinician taught the ethicist: clinical contributions to ethical concerns
Tom KochMed Sci Monit 2003; 9(9): ET21-27 :: ID: 13204
Abstract
Background:Clinical ethics is often assumed to be a one-way relationship in which ethicists consider the appropriate guidelines for clinical practice and research. This unfortunately ignores the important ways clinical practice informs bioethical thinking.Material/Methods:This paper considers the relation between clinical and ethical practice through a consideration of whether there are conditions in which Physician Assisted Suicide, or other forms of euthanasia, serve as an ethically accepted response to chronic illness. At one scale it reviews publicly available data on deaths attributed to euthanasia practitioner Jack Kevorkian to consider the medical rationale of those deaths. At another scale, the ‘mercy killing’ by Canadian farmer Robert Latimer of his daughter is employed as a case study of surrogate decision making.Results:A clinical review of the more than seventy cases attributed to Jack Kevorkian from 1990–98 reveals a client base that did not fit publicly or clinically accepted parameters within which euthanasia is generally understood. Few if any of the patients were near the end stage of a chronic progressive disease. Most were able to travel independently. Palliative care was in some cases problematic. The case of Latimer emphasizes the importance of social as well as medical care in cases of chronic illness, and the importance of palliative care as an alternative to premature termination.Conclusions:Clinical ethics is of necessity a two-way street, one in which ethical paradigms influence practitioners and researchers whose expertise, in turn, necessarily educates the non-clinical ethicist.
Keywords: Bioethical Issues, Decision Making, Ethicists, Ethics, Clinical, Ethics, Medical, Euthanasia, Interdisciplinary Communication, Palliative Care - ethics, Physician's Role, Quality of Life, Social Values, Suicide, Assisted
Editorial
01 March 2024 : Editorial
Editorial: First Regulatory Approvals for CRISPR-Cas9 Therapeutic Gene Editing for Sickle Cell Disease and Transfusion-Dependent β-ThalassemiaDOI: 10.12659/MSM.944204
Med Sci Monit 2024; 30:e944204
In Press
21 Feb 2024 : Clinical Research
Potential Value of HSP90α in Prognosis of Triple-Negative Breast CancerMed Sci Monit In Press; DOI: 10.12659/MSM.943049
22 Feb 2024 : Review article
Differentiation of Native Vertebral Osteomyelitis: A Comprehensive Review of Imaging Techniques and Future ...Med Sci Monit In Press; DOI: 10.12659/MSM.943168
23 Feb 2024 : Clinical Research
A Study of 60 Patients with Low Back Pain to Compare Outcomes Following Magnetotherapy, Ultrasound, Laser, ...Med Sci Monit In Press; DOI: 10.12659/MSM.943732
26 Feb 2024 : Clinical Research
Predictive Value of Combined HbA1c and Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio for Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy in...Med Sci Monit In Press; DOI: 10.12659/MSM.942509
Most Viewed Current Articles
17 Jan 2024 : Review article
Vaccination Guidelines for Pregnant Women: Addressing COVID-19 and the Omicron VariantDOI :10.12659/MSM.942799
Med Sci Monit 2024; 30:e942799
16 May 2023 : Clinical Research
Electrophysiological Testing for an Auditory Processing Disorder and Reading Performance in 54 School Stude...DOI :10.12659/MSM.940387
Med Sci Monit 2023; 29:e940387
14 Dec 2022 : Clinical Research
Prevalence and Variability of Allergen-Specific Immunoglobulin E in Patients with Elevated Tryptase LevelsDOI :10.12659/MSM.937990
Med Sci Monit 2022; 28:e937990
01 Jan 2022 : Editorial
Editorial: Current Status of Oral Antiviral Drug Treatments for SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Non-Hospitalized Pa...DOI :10.12659/MSM.935952
Med Sci Monit 2022; 28:e935952