A primer for health care ethics : essays for a pluralistic society / [edited by] Kevin O'Rourke.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

O'Rourke, Kevin D.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Medical ethics.

Medical ethics--Case studies.

Genre:

Case studies.

Physical Description:

xiii, 323 pages ; 23 cm

Edition:

Second edition.

Place of Publication:

Washington, DC : Georgetown University Press, 2000.

Summary:

From Harry and Louise through the McCaughey septuplets, this book explains stories and issues in health care ethics that have appeared in the news media. Written for the general reader in a pluralistic society, it outlines and applies principles of justice from the Catholic tradition to contemporary problems that increasingly affect us all.

This second edition contains extensive new material and new topics, including physician-assisted suicide, managed care, organ donation, genetic testing, cloning, and the question of futility. Aimed at a wide audience, this book will also be useful for introductory ethics courses in colleges and high schools.

Contents:

Part 1 Principles and Core Values 1

1 What Is Health Care Ethics? 3

2 Other Ethical Systems 9

3 Medical Ethics Needs Accurate Distinctions 13

4 The Values Inherent in Medical Care 16

5 Medical Ethics: Basic Goals 19

6 Medicine: Not an Exact Science 22

7 Professionalism: The Essence Is Empathy 26

8 Professional Attitudes

The Ethical Physician 29

9 Human Rights and Health Care 32

10 Culture and Religion 36

11 "No Greater Love" 40

Part 2 Informed Consent: Personal and Proxy 45

12 Informed Consent 47

13 Proxy Consent: Deciding for Others 49

14 Informed Consent and the Purpose of Medicine 52

15 Standards for Surrogates 55

16 Informed Consent: Therapeutic and Nontherapeutic Procedures 58

17 Informed Consent: Neonatal Care 61

18 When Children Can Consent 65

19 Telling the Truth to Patients 69

20 Confidentiality 71

21 Confidentiality in the Computer Age 74

22 CPR and DNR Revisited 78

23 Living Will and Durable Power of Attorney 82

24 The Patient Self-Determination Act (PSDA) 85

25 Advance Directives Revisited 88

Part 3 Use and Removal of Life Support 93

26 Ordinary and Extraordinary Means 95

27 Ethical Criteria for Removing Life Support 98

28 Withholding and Withdrawing Life Support 102

29 Assessing Treatment Options 106

30 Discontinuing Life Support in Doubt 109

31 Religious Beliefs and Lifesaving Therapy 113

32 Care for Patients in Persistent Vegetative States 117

33 Unfinished Business in the Cruzan Case 120

34 "Only God Can Heal My Daughter" 124

35 It's Time to Resolve the "Futility Debate" 127

36 Court Decisions on Futile Therapy 131

37 The Wanglie Case: Demands for Futile Therapy 134

38 Baby K: It's Time to Take a Stand 138

Part 4 Genetics 143

39 Cloning (Artifical Twinning): Have We Gone Too Far? 145

40 Genetic Testing: Ethics Issues 149

41 Concerns about Genetic Testing: Is a Little Knowledge Dangerous? 153

42 Cloning Human Beings 157

Part 5 Organ Donation 161

43 Organ Donation: Priceless Gift or Market Commodity? 163

44 Baby Theresa: "The Good That Could Be Done" 167

45 The Baby Fae Legacy 171

46 Destroying One Life to Save Others 174

47 Obtaining Organs from Non-Heart-Beating Cadavers 179

48 Mandated Choice for Organ Donation 182

Part 6 Research 187

49 Human Research Using Animals 189

50 Use of Fetal Tissue in Research and Therapy 192

51 Embryo Research: Ethical Issues 195

52 Research in the Emergency Department 198

Part 7 Suicide and Physician-Assisted Suicide 203

53 Suicide: A Rational Choice? 205

54 The Myth of "Managed Death" 208

55 Kevorkian's Dilemma: Are We Owners or Stewards of Human Life? 211

56 Physician-Assisted Suicide: An Ethical Analysis of Presuppositions 214

57 Suffering and the Debate over Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia 218

58 Federal Courts Approve Physician-Assisted Suicide 222

59 The U.S. Supreme Court and Assisted Suicide 226

60 Social Aspects of Assisted Suicide 229

61 Can Liberty Sustain Itself? Reflections on Physician-Assisted Suicide 233

Part 8 Managed Care 237

62 Ethical Issues and Managed Care: Asking the Right Questions 239

63 Harry and Louise: What Happened? 243

64 Managed Care and Early Discharge of Newborn Infants 246

65 Treating Symptoms or Basic Causes 249

66 Handling the 800-Pound Gorilla 253

67 The Oregon Health Care Plan: Some Questions 257

Part 9 Artificial Generation 261

68 In Vitro Fertilization and Surrogate Motherhood 263

69 Conceiving One Child to Save Another 266

Part 10 Special Questions 271

70 On Playing God 273

71 Autopsy: Ethical and Religious Considerations 276

72 Pain: Some Ethical Considerations 279

73 Suffering and the Need for Compassion 282

74 Truth-Telling and Alzheimer's Disease 285

75 Ethics Committees in Hospitals 289

76 The Role of Ethics Committees 292

77 "There But for the Grace of God": Disclosing Imperfect Care 295

78 Treatment of Rape Victims 300

79 Separating the Lakeberg Twins: Ethical Issues 303

80 The McCaughey Septuplets: All's Well that Ends Well? 307

81 Early Delivery of Anencephalic Infants: Ethical Opinions 311.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0878408029

OCLC:

43562089