This I Believe

Rights of patients and physicians

Patient autonomy (the right to decide for one’s self), truth-telling, and

confidentiality

Everyone has the right to make their own decisions about which healthcare

interventions they will or will not receive. In order to avoid making brash decisions,

clinicians should educate patients about their condition and the treatment options,

allowing them to make an informed decision. I think offering patients options and

allowing them to make choices about potentially life-changing healthcare interventions is

extremely important. Healthcare providers also need to recognize that if they refuse to do

more than inform the patients of their options and insist that they make the final decision

the patient may feel abandoned and overwhelmed. Clinicians should be enabling and

encouraging patients to make an informed decision while still providing guidance and

counseling.

Medical research ethics and informed consent

It is important to respect the autonomy of the individual deciding whether to

participate in biomedical research. No individual should be used as a subject in research

against his or her knowledge or will. Physicians should ensure that an individual has

given informed consent before participating in a research protocol. This means that the

participant should have the capacity to provide voluntary consent and have a sufficient

understanding of the subject matter in order to form a decision. The physician should also
 disclose information regarding any foreseeable hazards and also provide information

regarding any experimental drugs, devices, or procedures being used in the research.

Controls

Genetic control (refers to gene editing)

Developing safe and effective ways to use gene editing to treat people suffering

from serious diseases with no known cure would be transformative. I believe that gene

editing has both risks and rewards. It is important to draw the line between disease

treatment and enhancement. Changing things such as eye color and other physical

appearances is unnecessary. While advances have shown the possibilities of ending

serious mutations in the gene pool, it should not be abused.

Reproductive control (egg and sperm donation, assisted reproductive techniques)

As I have previously stated, I believe that everyone has the right to make their

own decisions regarding their health care. Assisted reproduction is a common practice in

modern reproductive medicine. It is important for parents to be educated and aware of the

significantly higher chance of a multiple child pregnancy. I do not believe that ART

treatment should be offered to older women or high-risk women due to the complications

that may impact the child and/or mother. Physicians and clinics should have fully

informed consent for sperm and egg donors.

Terminations

Abortion

Just as every person has a right to make decisions regarding their healthcare, I

also feel that women should be able to decide on terminating an unwanted or potentially
harmful pregnancy. Patients need to understand that all abortions should occur during the

first trimester before the embryo becomes a fetus. If the woman decides she doesn't want

to keep the baby after the first trimester she should look into other options such as

adoption.

It is important to remember that there are many reasons a woman may choose to

terminate a pregnancy such as preventing a child from being born with severe birth

defects or avoiding a full-term pregnancy that could potentially cause harm to the mother.

Whether you would choose to terminate your own pregnancy or not does not mean you

have the right to take that choice away from another person. Having control over when

and whether or not to have children is important to a woman’s independence and ability

to determine her future.

Treating or terminating impaired infants

Infants have the right to treatment. Infants have a right to life in the same way as

adults. I do not believe that infants should be terminated, just as I believe pregnancies

should not be terminated after the fetus is viable. Infants are not able to make decisions

about their healthcare. Depending on the impairment, they may never reach a level of

competence which would allow them to make such decisions. In this case the decisions

should fall on the parents or legal guardians.

Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide

I believe that physician-assisted suicide has its place in the healthcare system.

There are many reasons someone might consider physician-assisted suicide. To many

terminal patients physician-assisted suicide offers an escape from their suffering,

avoiding invasive and painful medical measures, and reducing the damaging financial
 effects of hospital care on their families. It is also preserving the individual’s right to

determine their own fate.

Medical advances have enabled life beyond what nature might have allowed, but

that is not always in the best interest of the patient. Although respirators can support a

patient’s failing lungs and medicines can sustain failing physiological processes,

sometimes medical intervention is simply prolonging the pain and suffering.

The patient is ultimately making the final decision to take his or her own life and has the

ability to change their mind at any time. The patient is simply using the knowledge and/or

means provided by the physician to carry the act out on their own. I do feel as though

there are many situations where an assisted death is not appropriate such as if the patient

does not have a terminal illness or if the patient is not a consenting adult. If a patient is

unable to physically carry out the act but able to provide consent than voluntary

euthanasia could be an option, however I do not believe that a physician should carry out

non-voluntary euthanasia.

Resources

Organ transplants and scarce medical resources

Organ transplantation is certainly one of the miracles of modern medicine. It is

crucial to respect the patient's wishes regarding their choice of being an organ donor. It is

important to define death by complete and irreversible loss of all brain functions. We also

need to take into account the individuals in need of organs. Making decisions of who will

receive the organs poses many complications. The shortage forces logical decisions on
 the allocation of human organs. The utility, justice, and respect are principles that should

be used when distributing resources.

Distributing health care (How it should be allocated based on age/status/ability to

pay)

A doctor can refuse to treat a patient without insurance, however with life

threatening or serious injuries a patient should be treated regardless of ability to pay. I do

not believe that age and status should impact the patient’s treatment. I believe that

healthcare workers should be conscious of the costs of care and avoid unnecessary

treatments that will add costs to the patients bills. They also should make sure that

patients do not feel as though they are being deprived treatment based on cost.

Challenges

Health care for women (unique challenges, responsibilities during pregnancy)

Women have the right to reproductive choice. However, with the decision to have

children comes responsibility to care for the child and avoid things such as alcohol,

smoking, and other drugs. It is also important to recognize that many new mothers are

vulnerable and should receive proper education about their options and treatments during

and after the pregnancy and the appropriate support from the health care staff.

Health care for minorities (inequalities in care, illegal immigrant health care)

Health care workers should strive to offer the same quality of care to all of their

patients. Physicians should not discriminate against any patients and should provide care

to individuals regardless of age, race, religion, etc. They should make efforts to remove
language barriers as much as possible in order to help both the patient and the health care

staff understand the treatment and needs of the patient. All health care workers should

practice respect and open mindedness in order to provide proper care.

Health care for and responsibilities of those with AIDS/HIV

It is important to recognize that someone living with HIV or AIDS should be

treated equally but they must accept some responsibility to protect their health and the

health of others. They should not be discriminated against and have a right to the same

quality of healthcare as others. People with HIV and Aids have the right to

confidentiality, but they also have the responsibility of disclosing their status to their

sexual partner and should always use protection. People should have a moral obligation

to ensure that their sex practices are safe in order to protect their partner.