Principles-of-Bioethics Midterm Notes

FATHER SATURNINO URIOS UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF NURSING BATCH 2024

NCM313 – Health Care Ethics (Bioethics)
FIRST SEMESTER | Midterm
Transcribed by: Thereresa Babe B. Dubouzet
COURSE OUTLINE
1. Principles of Bioethics  Participate in setting visions for health-care

1.2 Principles of Stewardship and Role of organizations that promote the greater good.
Nurses as Stewards Principle of Totality and its Integrity
1.3 Principle of Totality and its Integrity
1.4 Principle of Ordinary and Extraordinary 
These principles dictates that the well-being of
means the whole person must be considered in
1.5 Principle of Personalized Sexuality deciding about any therapeutic intervention or
2. Bioethics and Its Application in Various use of technology.
Health Care Situations : Sexuality and  A part exists for the good of the whole and may
Human Reproduction be sacrificed when necessary to serve a
2.1 Human Sexuality and its Moral proportionate good for the whole.
Evaluation  INTEGRITY refers to everyone's duty to
2.2. Marriage “preserve a view of the whole human person in
2.3 Issues on Artificial Reproduction, its which the values of the intellect, will,
Morality and Ethico-moral Responsibility of conscience and fraternity are preeminent”
Nurses  Integrity Types
2.4 Morality of Abortion, Rape and other o Anatomical integrity
Problems related to Destruction of Life o Functional integrity
 TOTALITY refers to the duty to preserve intact the
Principles of Bioethics
physical component of the integrated bodily and
Principle of Stewardship and Role of Nurses as spiritual nature of human life, whereby every
Stewards part of the human body “exists for the sake of the
whole as the imperfect for the sake of the
 STEWARDSHIP refers to the expression of one’s perfect”.
responsibility to take care of, nurture and
cultivate what has been entrusted to him. Anatomical vs Functional integrity
 In health care practice, STEWARDSHIP refers to
 Anatomical integrity - Refers to the material or
the execution of responsibility of the health
physical integrity of the human body.
care practitioners to look after, provide
 Functional integrity - Refers to the systematic
necessary health care services, and promote
efficiency of the human body.
the health and life of those entrusted to their
care. Organ Transplant
Roles of Nurses as Stewards  Transplanting organs from one living person to

another is ethically acceptable provided that the
 Practice of bearing witness or being present to
following criteria are met:
clients.
1. There is a serious need on the part
 Preserve and promote what is intrinsically
of the recipient that cannot be
valuable within their environments
fulfilled in any other way.
 Recognize openness to clients by respecting 2. The functional integrity of the
their capacity to be authentic.
donor as a human person will not
 Assist clients to express their feelings. be impaired, even though
 Encourage clients to gain insight into their anatomical integrity may suffer.
needs and their potential satisfaction.
3. The risk taken by the donor as an Sexually and Human Reproduction

act of charity is proportionate to
the good resulting for the recipient.  Human Sexuality and its Moral Evaluation
4. The donor’s and the recipient’s  Marriage
consents are free and informed.  Issues on Artificial Reproduction, its Morality
and Ethicomoral Responsibility of Nurses
Principles of Ordinary and Extraordinary Means  Morality of Abortion, Rape and other Problems
related to Destruction of Life
 Ordinary Means
 ‘usual’ or ‘customary’ for physicians to use The Science of Human Sexuality?
them for certain diseases, such as
pneumonia, or certain problems, such as  Sex - Refers to anatomic sex, male or female
malnutrition.  Sexual - Refers to anatomic structures, called
 Extraordinary Means sex organs or sexual organs, that play a role in
 ‘unusual’ or ‘uncustomary’ for physicians reproduction or sexual pleasure.
to use them for certain diseases or  Having sex - Refers to physical activities
problems. involving our sex organs for purposes of
reproduction, or pleasure
Principle of Personalized Sexuality  Gender - Refers to social or cultural categories.
 Based on an understanding of sexuality as one of  Human Sexuality - Refers to the ways in which
the basic traits of a person and must be we experience and express ourselves as sexual
developed in ways consistent with enhancing beings.
human dignity. Make-up of an Individual’s Unique Sexual Being
 Takes note of a humanized sexuality, one that
represents the fulfillment of physical and sensual  Physical
need but also evidenced with love and  Psychological
sacramental mystery.  Social
 The principle of personalized sexuality may be  Cultural
stated as follows:  Spiritual
 The gift of human sexuality must be used
in marriage in keeping with its intrinsic, Five Features of Sexuality
indivisible, specifically human teleology. It  Sensuality
should be loving, bodily, pleasurable
 Intimacy
expression of the complimentary,
 Sexual Identity
permanent self-giving of a man and
 Reproduction
woman to each other, which is open to
 Sexualization
fruition in perpetuation and expansion of
this personal communion through the SENSUALITY: awareness and acceptance of our own
family they beget and educate. body
 knowledge of anatomy & physiology

 understanding sexual response  body image
Bioethics and its Application in Various Health Care
 satisfaction of skin hunger
Situations: Sexuality and Human Reproduction
 attraction template
 fantasy  MORAL VALUES: relate to our conduct with and

treatment of other people, more than just right
INTIMACY: experiencing emotional closeness to or wrong, looks at the whole picture
another
 SEXUAL MORAL VALUES: relate to the rightness
 Caring and wrongness of sexual conduct and when and
 Sharing how sexuality should be expressed
 Risk taking  SOURCES OF SEXUAL VALUES: we acquire our
sexual values from our social environment
 Vulnerability
 Self- disclosure Value System for Making Sexual Decisions
SEXUAL IDENTITY: process of discovering who we are  Legalism
in terms of sexuality  Situational ethics
 Gender roles  Ethical relativism
 Orientation  Hedonism
 Asceticism
 Self-esteem & confidence level
 Relationships with family & friends  Utilitarianism
 Rationalism
 Roles as child & adult
 Perception of self as male/female Legalism
REPRODUCTION: values, attitudes & behaviors  The legalistic approach formulates ethical
relating to reproduction behavior on the basis of a code of moral laws
derived from an external source, such as a
 Contraception & fertility issues
religion.
 Lifestyles
 The Hebrew and Christian Bibles contain many
 STIs (including AIDS)
examples of the moral code of the Jewish and
 Anatomy & physiology
Christian religions.
 Morality issues
Book of Leviticus (20:10–17)
SEXUALIZATION: use of sexuality to influence,
control or manipulate  10: And the man that committed adultery with
another man’s wife, even he that committed
 Style of dress
adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer
 Appearance & body language
and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
 Advertising
 11: And the man that Leith with his father’s wife
 Movies, talk shows & media
hath uncovered his father’s nakedness: both
 Harassment & sexual assault shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be
 Paraphilias (voyeurism, exhibitionism…) upon them.
Values  12: And if a man lie with his daughter in law,
both shall surely be put to death: they have
 VALUES: the qualities in life which are deemed wrought confusion; their blood shall be upon
important or unimportant, right or wrong, them.
desirable or undesirable  13: If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth
with a woman, both have committed an
abomination: they shall surely be put to death;  Situation ethics seeks equal treatment of
their blood shall be upon them. everyone and acts our of love. Sex is a genuine
 14: And if a man take a wife and her mother, it expression of love.
is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire,  N.B.This is not easy when applied in practice
both he and they; that there be no wickedness when strong emotional feelings and physical
among you. drives take over
 15: And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely  Situation ethics has one Primary principle –
be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast. agape for Unconditional love; not love As an
 16: And if a woman approach unto any beast, emotion but the love That put what is best for
and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, The other person first.
and the beast: they shall surely be put to death;  Situation ethics rejects free love like natural law
their blood shall be upon them. and Kantian ethics. Rejecting onenight stands,
 17: And if a man shall take his sister, his father’s orgies etc.
daughter, or his mother’s daughter, and see her
Ethical Relativism
nakedness, and she see his nakedness; it is a
wicked thing; and they shall be cut off in the  Assumes that diverse values are basic to human
sight of their people: he hath uncovered his existence.
sister’s nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity.
 Ethical relativists reject the idea that there is a
 18: And if a man shall lie with a woman having single correct moral view about subjects as
her sickness and shall uncover her nakedness; diverse as wearing revealing clothing,
he hath discovered her fountain, and she hath masturbation, premarital sex, oral sex, anal sex,
uncovered the fountain of her blood: and both contraception, and abortion.
shall be cut off from among their people.
Cultural relativism
Situational Ethics
 One form of ethical relativism.
 Episcopal theologian Joseph Fletcher (1966)
 From this perspective, what is right or wrong
argued that ethical decision making should be
must be understood in terms of the cultural
guided by love for others rather than by rigid
beliefs that affect sexual decision making.
moral rules, and that sexual decision making
should be based on the context of the situation Hedonism
that the person faces.
 “The situationist is prepared in any concrete  Guided by the pursuit of pleasure, not by
whether a particular behavior is morally or
case to suspend, ignore, or violate any principle
situationally justified.
if by doing so he can effect better than by
following it” (1966, p. 34).  “If it feels good, do it” expresses the hedonistic
ethic.
Situation Ethics
Asceticism
 Joseph Fletcher in ‘situation ethics’ captured
the mood of 1960’s when approaches to sex  Religious celibates, such as Roman Catholic
and relationships became more free – because priests and Buddhist monks, choose asceticism
of contraceptive pill (self-denial of material and sexual desires) in
order to devote themselves to spiritual
pursuits.
Utilitarianism goal of ethics is to seek the happiness of all

by taking their needs into account
 The English philosopher John Stuart Mill (1806–  Masturbation, homosexuality, and
1873) proposed an ethical system based on bisexuality is tolerated. However if everyone
utilitarianism —the view that moral conduct is was a homosexual it would harm society.
based on that which will bring about “the  Harm principle – (an act or consequence is
greatest good for the greatest number” ( Mill, morally permissible if no harm is done) is
1863 ). important to utilitarianism especially in
 Utilitarianism Utilitarian reasons for having sex: extra-marital affairs – short-term pleasure
1. The value of pleasure. will produce long term pain. Etc.
2. The contribution which shared
pleasure makes to the value of a Rationalism
relationship.
3. That consensual sex creates much  Rationalism is the use of reason to
good, and, if harm to another person determine a course of action.
is avoided, provides the greatest  The rationalist believes that decisions should
happiness for the greatest number be based on intellect and reason rather than
 Utilitarian view to sex is called libertarian. emotions or faith.
More than a contractarian approach which
emphasises the importance of mutual
voluntary informed consent.
 Bentham - as long as there is mutual consent
for pleasure sex is not wrong if both partners
are willing. He also asked whether such a
relationship harmed society/caused Aquinas – Natural law
unhappiness, either physical or moral
(Undermining marriage, fidelity etc)  View of Catholic Church. He attempted to
 Sex is immoral if one or both of those unite Aristotle with Christian theological –
involved lack a knowledgeable consent. i.e. a looking at end purpose –telos. Aquinas
man having sex with 15 year old illegal concluded that the purpose of sexual organs
immigrant desperate for money. This is and sexual activity was procreation, and any
immoral many prostitutes have been forced other use of sex was intrinsically wrong. Sex
into it. is only in marriage.
1. Sex is wrong if it does not coincide with
Utilitarianism & sex the act of procreation – Masturbation,
bestiality, homosexuality and foreplay
 Utilitarians must be tolerant of people with
are all immoral.
nontraditional sexual orientations, except in
2. Sexual acts can be morally wrong even if
cases that do great social harm i.e.
it is natural – i.e. incest, rape or adultery.
molesters.
Kant – categorical imperative
 John Stuart Millsstresses the value of liberty,
 A husband who commits adultery cannot
sex should be a matter of individual choice,
want extramarital sex to be universal law
without state interference. However we
unless he wants his wife, children, parents
should try to seek higher pleasures and the
and so on to engage in extra-marital Issues today in Christian ethics

activities.
 Neither can homosexuality be universalised,  Today the unitive role of love is a
since every homosexual is conceived comparatively modern element, and the role
through a heterosexual relationship – of sex in marriage as an expression of that
although artificial insemination could change love is also now recognised. Even sexual
this. pleasure is seen as a gift from God in
 Kant does not see sex within marriage as heterosexual marriage. (see song of
wrong, the purpose of marriage is NOT Solomon)
PROCREATION, but a union of two people of  Richard Holloway points out, that the Bible
different sexes. Sex is morally acceptable in is being used for the possible split of the
a monogamous relationship. Church over ordination of gay bishops.
 You should not use humans as a means to an Holloway states that the impetus for social
end i.e. prostitution. reform comes from society and not the
 Sexual pleasure is only allowed when service Church.
more valuable goals such as marriage  Jack Dominion states that sex is not
dangerous and should only be used for
Virtue Ethics procreation. Sex is so powerful and
meaningful that justice can only be done to
 Virtue ethics looks from the standpoint of it in a continuous and enduring relationship.
the individual and his or her personal  He accepts cohabitation, premarital sex and
qualities, virtue and ideas. even accepts homosexual sex as long as it is
 V.E. would consider what kind of sexual in a loving relationship. He sees the church
practices will tend to make a person more as having to rethink ideals.
virtuous – those that involve taking pleasure  There is a big divide today with
in giving oneself to another and developing homosexuality. The rejects homosexuality
intimacy and commitment , Less virtuous- stating it is an abomination. However the
those that use others for one’s own Bible also says you shouldn’t mix milk with
pleasure. meat. Of which most Christians ignore
 V.E. Points to the values of – love
commitment, honesty, loyalty, friendship, Perspectives on Human Sexuality
pleasure.
 Vices – exploitation and selfishness.  Historical
 Rosalind Hursthouse – A Virtuous person is  Biological
one who exercises the virtues in  Evolutionary
circumstances  Cross-species
 Michael Slote – Emphasis ethics of care in  Cross-cultural
relationships, requires a sort of 3-way  Psychological
balance as far as sex and relationships: Sociocultural Historical Perspective
1. care for those who are near to us
(intimate care)  Prehistoric Sexuality: From Female Idols to
2. care for other people in general Phallic Worship
(humanitarian care ) o Art produced in the Stone Age suggests
3. care for our own well-being (self care) the worship of women’s ability to bear
children and perpetuate the species (  The Greeks viewed people as bisexual.
Fichner-Rathus, 2013 ). Male–male sex was deemed normal and
o As people grew aware of the male role tolerated so long as it did not threaten the
in reproduction, phallic worship institution of the family.
(worship of the penis) sprang into being.  Pederasty means love of boys.
o The penis became glorified in art as a  Prostitution flourished at every level of
plough, ax, or sword. Phallic symbols society. Prostitutes ranged from refined
played roles in religious ceremonies in courtesans to concubines, who were usually
ancient Egypt. slaves.
o The incest taboo may have been the first  The World of Ancient Rome
human taboo.  Julius Caesar is reputed to have been
bisexual—“a man to every woman and a
The Ancient Hebrews
woman to every man.”
 The ancient Hebrews viewed sex, at least in  Other emperors, such as Caligula, sponsored
marriage, as a satisfying experience orgies at which guests engaged in sexual
intended to fulfill the divine command to “be practices including bestiality and sadism.
fruitful and multiply.”  Romans disapproved of male–male sexual
 The ancient Hebrews believed that sex behavior as a threat to the integrity of the
helped strengthen marital bonds and solidify Roman family.
the family.  Western society traces the roots of many of
 According to the Book of Proverbs, a good its sexual terms to Roman culture, as
wife rises before dawn to tend to her family’s indicated by their Latin roots.
needs, brings home food, instructs the o Fellatio , for example, derives from
servants, tends the vineyards, makes the the Latin fellare, meaning “to suck.”
clothes, keeps the ledger, helps the needy, o Cunnilingus derives from cunnus,
and works well into the night. meaning “vulva,” and lingere, “to
lick.”
The Ancient Greeks o Fornication derives from fornix, an
arch or vault.
 Greeks valued family life, but Greek men also
admired the well-developed male body and The Early Christians
enjoyed nude wrestling in the arena.
 Erotic encounters and off-color jokes  Early Christian views on sexuality were
characterized the plays of Aristophanes and largely shaped by Saint Paul and the church
other playwrights. fathers in the first century and by Saint
 The Greeks held that the healthy mind must Augustine in the latter part of the fourth
dwell in a healthy body. They cultivated century.
muscle and movement along with mind.  Adultery and fornication were rampant
 Three aspects of Greek sexuality are of among the upper classes of Rome at the
particular interest to our study of sexual time, and early Christian leaders began to
practices in the ancient world: male–male associate sexuality with sin (MacCulloch,
sexual behavior, pederasty, and 2011).
prostitution.  Christians, like Jews before them, demanded
virginity of brides (MacCulloch, 2011).
 Prostitution was condemned.  Taoists believed that it was wasteful for a

 The goal of procreation should govern sexual man to “spill his seed.” Masturbation,
behavior—the spirit should rule the flesh. acceptable for women, was ruled out for
 Saint Augustine (353–430 CE) associated men. Sexual practices such as anal
sexual lust with the original sin of Adam and intercourse and oral–genital contact (fellatio
Eve in the Garden of Eden. Lust and shame and cunnilingus) were permissible.
were passed down through the generations.  Same-sex activity was not prohibited by
Taoist holy writings, but some Taoists
Islam frowned on exclusive homosexuality.
 The Islamic tradition treasures marriage and Christianity in the Middle Ages
sexual fulfillment in marriage.
 Premarital sex and adultery invite shame and  The attitudes of the Roman Catholic Church
social condemnation toward sexuality, largely unchanged since
 Islamic tradition permit a sexual double the time of Augustine, dominated medieval
standard thought (Crawford et al., 2011)
 There were two conflicting concepts of
India woman: One was the woman as Eve, the
temptress; the other was the woman as
 Hindu sexual practices were codified in a sex
Mary, virtuous and pure.
manual, the Kama Sutra, which illustrates
sexual positions, some of which would The Protestant Reformation
challenge a contortionist
 The Kama Sutra reflected the Hindu belief  Martin Luther disputed many Roman
that sex was a religious duty, not a source of Catholic doctrines on sexuality.
shame or guilt.  He believed that priests should be allowed to
 Hindu deities were often portrayed as marry and rear children.
engaging in same-sex as well as male–female  To Luther, marriage was as much a part of
sexual activities. human nature as eating or drinking.
 In the Hindu doctrine of karma (the passage  John Calvin rejected the Roman church’s
of souls from one place to another), sexual position that sex in marriage was permissible
fulfillment was regarded as one way to only for procreation. He believed that sexual
become reincarnated at a higher level of expression in marriage also strengthened
existence. the marriage bond and helped relieve the
stresses of everyday life.
The Far East
Coming to America
 To the Taoist masters of China, who
influenced Chinese culture for millennia, sex  Early settlers brought to North America the
was a sacred duty—a form of worship that religious teachings that had dominated
led toward harmony with nature and Western thought and culture for centuries.
immortality.  A woman’s place, by and large, was in the
 The Chinese culture was the first to produce home and in the fields.
a detailed sex manual, which came into use
about 200 years before the birth of Jesus.
 Not until 1833, when Oberlin College opened political, and economic forces. The war (in
its doors to women, were women permitted Vietnam), the bomb (fear of the nuclear
to attend college in the United States. bomb), the pill (the introduction of the birth
control pill), and the mass media (especially
The Victorian Period television) were four such forces.
 Victorian society in Europe and the United Gay Activism
States, on the surface at least, was prim and
proper.  Gay activism mushroomed during the sexual
 Sex was not discussed in polite society. revolution.
 Many women viewed sex as a marital duty to  Not only did gays become more voluble in
be performed for procreation or to satisfy demanding equal rights, but they also began
their husbands’ cravings. gay parades in major cities, such as the
 It was widely believed among medical annual parades in San Francisco and New
authorities in England and the United States York’s Greenwich Village.
that sex drains the man of his vitality.  In the early 1980s, gay people also built
 Prostitution flourished during the Victorian social institutions to tackle the problem of
era. HIV/AIDS, which afflicted gay males
 Same-sex sexual behavior was considered disproportionately.
indecent in Victorian society.
Sex Research
Foundations of the Scientific Study of Sexuality
 Shere Hite published controversial books
 The English physician Havelock Ellis (1859– based on magazine surveys, but her
1939) published a veritable encyclopedia of popularity fell when it became clear that
sexuality between 1897 and 1910, Studies in 3,000 magazine readers did not represent
the Psychology of Sex. the country, or even all readers of the
 The influential German psychiatrist Richard magazine.
von Krafft-Ebing (1840–1902) described case  Morton Hunt conducted a telephone survey
histories of people with sexual deviations in financed by Playboy in the 1970s, and he
his book, Psychopathia Sexualis (1886). claimed to find a populace more sexually
 Sigmund Freud (1856–1939), was liberal than in Kinsey’s day.
developing a theory of personality that has  In the 1960s, Masters and Johnson were
had an enormous influence on modern condemned by many as destroying the moral
culture and science. fabric of the nation—a complaint like those
 Alfred Kinsey (1894–1956), an Indiana leveled earlier against Kinsey.
University zoologist, conducted the first  Today, research on sexual behavior
large-scale studies of sexual behavior in the continues, with more valid methods of
1930s and 1940s. sampling the population and a largely jaded
 The Sexual Revolution citizenry.
 The period of the mid-1960s to the mid- Recent Trends
1970s is often referred to as the sexual
revolution.  More teenagers are sexually active today,
 The sexual revolution gained momentum and at younger ages, than they were a
from a timely interplay of scientific, social,
couple of generations ago ( Russell et al.,  Consider the concept of “erotic plasticity” (
2012 ). Baumeister, 2000 ), which addresses the fact
 In addition to premarital sex, two other that in response to various social and
features of the sexual revolution have cultural forces, people show different levels
become permanent parts of our social fabric: of sex drive and express their sexual desires
the liberation of female sexuality and a in a variety of ways.
greater willingness to discuss sex openly.  There is evidence that women show greater
 All societies have some form of an incest erotic plasticity than men do ( Baumeister,
taboo. 2000 ; Yost & Thomas, 2011 ).
 Most societies place a value on procreative
Altruism
sex within the context of an enduring
relationship, usually in the form of marriage.  In evolutionary terms, his “altruism”—his
THE BIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE personal sacrifice—is adaptive if it increases
the chances that the offspring will survive
 Focuses on the roles of genes, hormones, the and carry his genes.
nervous system, and other biological factors  In other species, it may be adaptive for
in human sexuality. fathers to “love them and leave them”—that
 Study of the biology of sex informs us about is, to mate with as many females as possible
the mechanisms of reproduction as well as of and abruptly abandon them to “plant their
the mechanisms of sexual arousal and seed” elsewhere.
response.  Gender Differences in Preferred Number of
Sex Partners
THE EVOLUTIONARY PERSPECTIVE
 Some evolutionary psychologists argue that
 Scientists look to evolution to help explain men are naturally more promiscuous than
such variability (Buss & Schmitt, 2011). women because they are the genetic heirs of
ancestors whose reproductive success was
 The English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–
1882) showed that current species of related to the number of women they could
animals and plants evolved from other life- impregnate (Buss & Schmitt, 2011).
forms through natural selection, or “survival THE CROSS-SPECIES PERSPECTIVE
of the fittest.”
 New variations in species can also be  The study of other animal species places
introduced through random genetic changes human behavior in broader context.
called mutations.  Cross-species research reveals an interesting
 Traits are transmitted by units of heredity pattern. Sexual behavior among “higher”
called genes. mammals, such as primates, is less directly
 Some scientists suggest that there is also a controlled by instinct than it is among the
genetic basis to social behavior, including “lower” species, such as birds, fish, or lower
sexual behavior, among humans and other mammals.
animals ( Buss & Schmitt, 2011 ).  Experience and learning play more
important roles in sexuality as we travel up
The Evolutionary Perspective and Erotic Plasticity the evolutionary ladder.
SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES
 In Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive  Bottles, boxes, cases, caves, chests, closets,
Societies (1935), Mead laid the groundwork doors, hats, jars, ovens, pockets, pots
for recent psychological and sociological
Symbols for Sexual Intercourse
research challenging gender role
stereotypes.  Climbing ladder, climbing a staircase,
 In such cultures, men are perceived as crossing a bridge, driving an automobile,
strong, active, independent, and logical. flying in an airplane, riding a horse, riding an
Women are viewed as passive, dependent, elevator, riding a roller coaster, walking into
nurturing, and emotional. a tunnel or down a hall
 In 1951, Clellan Ford, an anthropologist, and
Frank Beach, a psychologist, reviewed sexual Symbols for the Breasts
behavior in almost 200 preliterate societies
 Apples, peaches
around the world. They found great variety
in sexual customs and beliefs. Freud
 Kissing was quite common although not
universal.  Each person’s approach to sex and
 The frequency of sexual intercourse also relationships is based on their upbringing
varies from culture to culture, but and their relationship with their parents.
intercourse is relatively more frequent  He suggests that sexual personality may be
among young people everywhere. found at the core of moral personality – how
 Societies differ in their attitudes toward we behave towards sexual partners both
childhood masturbation. influences and mirrors how we perceive and
 Societies differ widely in their sexual interact with people in general. – failure to
attitudes, customs, and practices. learn to control the pursuit of sexual
pleasure undermines the achievement of
PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES virtuous character.
 We have a Super-ego – an inner voice
 Sigmund Freud and Psychoanalytic Theory reminding us of social norms which comes
 Sigmund Freud, a Viennese physician, from parents and authority figures in society.
formulated a grand theory of personality – we need this voice to live ethically in
termed psychoanalysis. Freud believed that society.
we are all born with biologically based sex  As a result of the superego rules about sex
drives that must be channeled through and relationships change dependant upon
socially approved outlets if family and social cultures.
life are to carry on without undue conflict.
 Oedipus and castration complex – The wants
Dream Symbols in Psychoanalytic to sleep with his mother but doesn’t because
she has no penis, therefore his father
Symbols for the Male Genital Organs (according to the child’s mind) has chopped
his mothers penis off. He will then submit to
 Airplanes, Bullets, feet, fire, fish, hands,
his father. His urges will only be later on
hoses, knives, neckties, poles, sneakers,
directed to his wife.
sticks, tools, trains, trees, Umbrellas
Learning Theories
Symbols for the Female Genital Organs
 Behaviorists such as John B. Watson (1878– o Traditional gender roles that view
1958) and B. F. Skinner (1904– 1990) men as objective and rational, and
emphasized the importance of rewards and women as emotional and irrational
punishments in the learning process.
QUEER THEORY
 Behaviorists -Learning theorists who argue
that a scientific approach to understanding  Queer theory challenges several commonly
behavior must refer only to observable and held assumptions about gender and
measurable behaviors. sexuality, such as the assumptions that
Cognitive Views heterosexuality is normal and superior to
homosexuality ( Semp, 2011 ).
 Cognitive psychologists emphasize the  Queer theory also challenges the
importance of cognitive activity. assumption that people are naturally divided
 Observational learning refers to acquiring into heterosexuals and homosexuals
knowledge and skills through observing (Downing & Gillett, 2011)
others.  According to queer theory, the concepts of
 According to social–cognitive theory , heterosexuality and homosexuality are
children acquire the gender roles deemed social constructs that ignore commonly
appropriate in a society through experienced mismatches among people’s
reinforcement of gender-appropriate anatomic sex, society’s gender roles, and
behavior and through observing the individuals’ sexual desires (Downing &
genderrole behavior of their parents, their Gillett, 2011).
peers, and other models on television, in
Sexual Morality and Marriage
films, in books, and so on.
FEMINIST THEORY  Kant’s Definition of Marriage

 [Marriage] is an agreement between two
 The Greek philosopher Aristotle is said to persons by which they grant each other
have described a female as a deformed male. equal reciprocal rights, each of them
 Feminism and feminist theory are born undertaking to surrender the whole of their
against ideas such as those of Aristotle’s— person to the other with a complete right of
ideas that remain with us today in many if disposal over it.
not most parts of the world ( Petersen &  Sex within marriage is about the whole
Hyde, 2010 ). person and not simply the genitals, sexual
 Feminist theory challenges: desire and pleasure. How does this work?
o Traditional views of men as  This is how Soble starts to approach this
breadwinners and women as question:
homemakers o But because the acquisition [of
o Traditional views of men as political another through sex] in marriage is
policymakers, especially since those reciprocal, each person regains his
policies affect women and children or her personhood (and hence does
o Traditional views of men as sexual not lose it, after all). When I
“aggressors” and women as sexual “surrender” myself to you, and you
“gatekeepers” thereby acquire me, but you also
“surrender” yourself to me, and I
thereby acquire you, which “you”  To treat a person as a “mere means” is to

includes the “me” that you have make them into an object.
acquired, we each surrender but  People are to be “equal subjects of
then reacquire ourselves. experience.”
2. Sexual relations are CONTRACTUAL in
Vatican Declaration on Some Questions in Sexual
nature.
Ethics
 This involves the notion of reciprocity =
 One of the Vatican's arguments against that none of us is self-sufficient
premarital sex:  “voluntary agreement of both parties to
1. Nonmarital sex cannot “guarantee” the satisfy the expectations of the other.”
sincerity and fidelity of the relationship, 3. Voluntary contracts incur a moral obligation
nor protect it against changes in desire. to provide/fulfill that which they have
2. Marriage can guarantee these things. agreed to.
3. Sex is permissible only if it takes place in 4. And that promise-breaking and deception
a context where commitment is are immoral actions.
guaranteed. Thus,  One argument against the contractual
4. Sex outside of marriage (including view is that the feelings of intimacy involved
premarital sex) is not permissible (that make the contract a bad model.
is, morally wrong).  Belliotti replies that all this shows is that
it “may well be” the most important contract
SEX OUTSIDE OF MARRIAGE that people make.
 He says we need to be careful in assuming
 What are the underlying issues? - Are sexual
what the other has offered.
relations a matter of a contract OR. – A
 His conclusion: Sex is immoral if and only if it
matter of historical existentially grounded
involves deception, promise-breaking
human beings?
and/or treating the other party as a “mere
 The central issue for me is the vulnerability
means” to one’s own ends.
that occurs during intimacy. Reminder: This
 Examples:
is a PHILOSOPHICAL discussion [religious
 Rape is intrinsically immoral because the
precepts may base a prohibition of pre-
marital sex on the bible, or other religious participation of one party is involuntary.  He
teachings.] argues that rape is possible within marriage.
Because of lack of consent.
 BELLIOTI: Sexual Intercourse between
Consenting Adults is always Permissible  Bestiality raises the question of whether an
animal is an object, or whether it has
 He argues that Sexual Relations are
contractual in nature. This means the act is interests that are not advanced by the act.
morally wrong only if it involves  Necrophilia is immoral because of
o Deception involuntary participation
o promise-breaking  Some argue a dead person is an object
o exploitation  But we do honor requests beyond the grave
– and also this “object” once was a person-
Bellioti argues from a KANTIAN position so “it” is not a “mere object”.
1. It is never right to treat another human being Bellioti: Final comments

as a “mere means.”
 The role of religion: Belliotti is not providing  This is an existential understanding of

a religious argument, but he notes that the human self.
religious convictions have become part of
If we agree that the human self is historical then
society’s moral code.  Note: Remember
that Kant has shifted the “command” of the  It is not possible to amputate our bodily
moral law from God to human reason. existence from the most intimate
 On Belliotti’s analysis “teasing” without the expression of our selfhood.
intention to fulfill is immoral on his  To do this is a form of “depersonalization.”
contractual view of sexual relations.  Sexual relations are not simply a PHYSICAL
PUNZO: Sexual Intercourse Should Always Be merging, but a merging of the non-physical
Confined to Marriage dimensions of the partners.
 Without a commitment to marriage there is
 Punzo argues that sex is different from other an amputation of their physical being from
human activities because it involves their historical being.
EXISTENTIAL INTEGRITY:  The union is “depersonalized”
 What does he mean by “existential  Sexual union is not simply a matter of
integrity”? being honest [the contract model]
 He asks whether having sexual relations is no
different from any other event-choice that Marriage as a total human commitment
we make – like choosing a dinner from a
 Punzo makes a distinction between “pre-
menu or which movie to attend?
ceremonial” intercourse and “pre-marital”
 Punzo argues that: intercourse.
1. There is a distinctive nature to
 People can be “morally married” without a
sexual relations that makes them
ceremony BUT
different from other activities or
 The ceremony is part of the “historicity” of
relationships we engage in. It is a
the relationship – this acknowledges that
matter of CONTEXT In sexual
they do not exist in a vacuum.
relations you give your bodies over
 The marriage ceremony “roots” them in the
– it is not a contractual relation
world in which they live. [Hence the
2. The reason we can say all human
gay/lesbian desire for marriage.]
activities are alike is the acquisitive
character of our society. – The Vatican Declaration on Some Questions in Sexual
contract model “works”, if this is Ethics
the way we view human sexual
relations – as a form of acquisition.  Vatican's main argument against
homosexuality
He believes that we need to face the 1. Sexual activity that violates the
nature of sexual relations “squarely” proper function of the sex organs is
and directly. wrong.
2. Homosexual activity violates the
 The human self is historical as well as
proper function of the sex organs.
physical – the role of the past and the
Thus,
future.
3. Homosexual activity is wrong.
 The Vatican also argues against the morality wrong to sexually interact with another
of masturbation, in much the same way it person.
argues against homosexual activity.  The Humanity Formulation of the
 Notice the reliance on the idea that the Categorical Imperative: “It is morally wrong
sexual organs have a proper function, and for A to use B merely as a means to achieve
thus, sexual activity does as well. A's ends.”
 Do they have such a function? If they do,
Thomas A. Mappes, “Sexual Morality and the
does the Vatican correctly identify that
Concept of Using Another Person”
function?
 John Corvino, “Why Shouldn't Tommy and  Mappes' main principle of sexual morality:
Jim Have Sex?”  “A sexually uses B if and only if A
 In this article, Corvino attempts to refute intentionally acts in a way that violates the
two kinds of arguments against requirement that B's sexual involvement
homosexuality: those that appeal to its with A be based on B's voluntary informed
being unnatural, and those that appeal to its consent.”
being harmful.  Deception (either through lying or
 To do this, he reformulates the withholding information) violates the
unnaturalness argument in five ways and “informed” aspect of this requirement.
objects to each reformulation. John  Coercion (either through physical force or
Corvino, “Why Shouldn't Tommy and Jim threats) violates the “voluntary” aspect of
Have Sex?” this requirement.”
 The five discussed meanings of “unnatural”:  A third way to violate the requirement:
1. Unnatural = unusual or abnormal exploitation.
2. Unnatural = not practiced by other  Offers are proposals to reward an individual
animals for compliance; they do not propose
3. Unnatural = does not proceed in punishment for noncompliance. When the
accordance with innate desires reward is something the individual
4. Unnatural = violates an organ's desperately needs, then the offer is coercive.
principal purpose Exploitation is taking advantage of an
5. Unnatural = disgusting or offensive individual's desperate situation.
 Corvino also responds to harm-based  Offers differ from threats, since threats do
arguments against homosexuality. propose punishment for noncompliance,
 One version of this argument claims that and they do not propose any reward for
homosexual activity harms the person who compliance.
performs that activity.
 Another version claims that homosexual Raja Halwani, “Virtue Ethics and Adultery”
activity harms other, nonconsenting parties.
 Halwani applies a version of virtue ethics to
 The final version Corvino mentions claims
reach his conclusion that adultery is often—
that homosexuality harms society.
but not always—wrong.
 Mappes' article is an application of Kant's
 Halwani's main argument, then, appeals to
Humanity Formulation of the Categorical
the following principle of virtue ethics:
Imperative to the question of when it is
 An action is wrong if and only if (and enhance the personal well-being of

because) it is what a virtuous agent would the married partners.
not do. 2. The public view: Marriage is a public
 After providing some reasons to accept this bond and sexual institution
argument, Halwani then tries to explain between members of the opposite
adultery is, generally speaking, not sex; it is fundamentally about
something a virtuous agent would do.” reproduction and the continuation
 One way to understand Halwani's central of society.
argument:  Gallagher provides several considerations
1. Love and exclusive commitment are against the relationship view:
constituents of a marriage. 1. It erodes the idea that there is a
2. Given the connection between special connection between a child
love, commitment, and sex, sexual and his/her biological parents that
fidelity is an ideal in marriage. explains the parents' obligations to
3. If fidelity is an ideal in marriage, a their child.
virtuous person would strive to 2. It cannot make sense of the state's
realize it and would avoid engaging traditional regulation of marriage.
in activities that are contrary to this 3. Legalizing same-sex marriage on
ideal. the basis of the relationship view
4. An action is wrong if and only if (and would have bad consequences for
because) it is what a virtuous agent society.
would not do. Thus,  Gallagher provides several considerations
5. Adultery is wrong. for the public view:
 A few details about Halwani's view: 1. Adopting this view is necessary for
 Halwani accepts that there are possible the survival of society.
cases where adultery is not wrong. This 2. Adopting this view would have
makes Halwani's conclusion non-absolutist. good consequences for children,
 This is because while fidelity is an ideal, who need to be raised by married
according to Halwani, there could be cases opposite-sex couples to thrive.
where the virtuous agent would decide that 3. Even if the law reflects this view
there is sufficient reason to not seek this (and it should) by not allowing
ideal. same-sex marriage, same-sex
 Halwani also claims that his argument couples could still enjoy many of
applies not just to marriages, but to the legal benefits that married
committed romantic relationships generally. couples do.
Maggie Gallagher, “Normal Marriage: Two Views” Evan Wolfson, “Enough Marriage to Share”
 The two views of what normal marriage is,  Wolfson replies directly to Gallagher.
according to Gallagher:  He quotes several legal and scientific sources
1. The relationship view: Marriage is to express his view that:
an essentially private relationship 1. There is no reason to believe that
whose fundamental aim is to same-sex couples are generally not
as capable of successfully raising  A record was set for what is thought to be

children as opposite-sex couples the oldest woman to give birth to a healthy
2. Denying same-sex marriage has no infant, when it was announced in April 1997
benefits but many costs (especially that a 63- year-old woman had given birth
to same-sex couples and children of via cesarean section on November 7, 1996.
these couples).  The woman, married and previously
3. Marriage is not necessarily about childless, is said to have told doctors she was
procreation. 50 and had medical records attesting to that
4. There is little or no reason to think age. (The medical center where the IVF
that legalizing same- sex marriage occurred sets an age limit of 55 on accepting
would have serious negative patients.) A donor egg and the husband’s
consequences. sperm were used for the IVF (Roan, 1997).
 In January 1994, the French Senate opted to
Issues on Artificial Reproduction, its Morality and
prohibit the use of reproductive options in
Ethico-moral Responsibility of Nurses
certain cases (Capron, 1994).
In Vitro Fertilization  One can readily identify some of the
difficulties in starting the mothering process
 In 1978 in England, much attention focused at age 62 or 63, not the least of which would
on the birth of the first child who was be living long enough to see the child reach
conceived in a test tube, a process referred adulthood.
to as in vitro fertilization (IVF).  Quality-of-life issues also may be involved. If
 When the number of implanted embryos is the mother is 62 when the child is born, she
too great, consideration is given to aborting will be 67 or 68 when the child starts school
several of them to improve the chances of and 75 when the child becomes a teenager.
full development for the remaining ones;  Other concerns focus on the fear that PGD
this creates additional ethical dilemmas for will be used to make “perfect babies” or for
the family. sex selection, even when there is not a
 Other offshoots of in vitro fertilization allow medical reason (such as hemophilia, Tay-
people who are carrying a severe genetic Sachs, or sickle-cell anemia) for such action.
disease to be assured that their children will
not be affected by the condition or carry the Artificial Insemination
defective gene. Fertilized ova are examined
 The planting of sperm in the woman’s body
for possible disease before being implanted
to facilitate conception.
in the uterus; those that are diseased would
 There are two different kinds of artificial
not be implanted.
insemination:
 As wonderful as this may seem, concerns
 Homologous (Artificial Insemination
exist regarding what some would call the
Homologous—AIH), in which the husband’s
misuse of IVF.
sperm is used, and
 In Italy, a 62-year-old woman became
 heterologous (Artificial Insemination
pregnant using donated eggs and IVF before
Donor—AID), in which a donor’s sperm is
implantation in her uterus. She gave birth by
used.
cesarean section in 1994.
 Using the husband’s sperm is by far the most
 A 59-year-old woman in England delivered
common and creates the fewest problems
twins by this method.
legally, ethically, and morally. In some of the family reflect a commitment to a child
instances, the sperm from the husband and and respect for the personhood of the child.
the sperm from a donor with similar physical  Most serious conflicts have occurred in
characteristics are mixed. situations in which a woman has been paid
 Although some religious groups may have to serve as a surrogate mother. A formal,
objections, few concerns arise when the contractual relationship is usually
husband’s sperm is used. That is not true established.
with donor sperm.  The couple who wish to have the child agree
 If the woman is artificially inseminated with to pay all expenses associated with the
donor sperm without the knowledge and pregnancy, and to pay the surrogate mother
consent of her partner, the problems are an agreed sum for her time and involvement.
multiplied. If conception occurs and the child The contract must be carefully drawn up
is not biologically that of the husband, can because it is illegal in all states to sell a child.
one say that adultery has occurred? Others
suggest that the husband should legally Sperm Banks
adopt the child.  Sperm banks have been established in
Surrogate Mothers different parts of the United States for
various reasons.
 A surrogate mother is one who agrees to  Men who want to have a vasectomy may
bear a child conceived through artificial contribute to a sperm bank “just in case”
insemination and to relinquish the baby at they change their minds in the future.
birth to others for rearing.  Men who will be exposed to high levels of
 The term biologic is no longer adequate for radiation in their work, or during treatment
making some critical conceptual distinctions. of disease, may wish to have sperm stored
Macklin (1991, p. 6) states, “The techniques because radiation may cause mutation of the
of egg retrieval, in vitro fertilization (IVF), genes or result in sterility. This allows them
and gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT), to father children later without concern
now make it possible for two different about the effect on the sperm.
women to make a biological contribution to  In most cases, the medical community
the creation of a new life.” establishes sperm banks so that sperm is
 Macklin further believes that the woman available for artificial inseminations.
who contributes her womb during gestation  In California, a sperm bank was started that
is also a biologic mother. We find terms such contains only sperm of outstanding and
as genetic mother used to refer to the brilliant men. The idea was to create children
individual contributing the ovum, and with this sperm who will be genetically
gestational mother used to refer to the endowed with greater intelligence and
individual who provides the uterus in which creativity.
the child develops. In some instances the  Many find this unacceptable because it
surrogate mother is both. brings up the issue of creating a super race.
 Ethically, carrying a child for a family Concerns also have been raised regarding
member out of love and concern and the possible number of offspring in a single
planning to remain in that child’s life as part community who might be genetically related
without knowing it. Ethico-moral nurse establishes relationships and delivers

Responsibility of Nurses nursing services with respect for human
 The nurse, in all professional relationships, needs and values, and without prejudice. An
practices with compassion and respect for individual’s lifestyle, value system and
the inherent dignity, worth, and uniqueness religious beliefs should be considered in
of every individual, unrestricted by planning health care with and for each
considerations of social or economic status, patient. Such consideration does not suggest
personal attributes, or the nature of health that the nurse necessarily agrees with or
problems. There are biomedical ethical condones certain individual choices, but that
principles, which are widely accepted in the nurse respects the patient as a person.
health care:
1.3 The nature of health problems
1. Respect for autonomy of patient
decision-making  The nurse respects the worth, dignity and
2. Beneficence states that positive steps rights of all human beings irrespective of the
must be taken to help others nature of the health problem. The worth of
3. Non-malfeasance principle refers to do the person is not affected by disease,
no harm disability, functional status, or proximity to
4. Justice, also referred to as fairness, death. This respect extends to all who
describes equity in the distribution of require the services of the nurse for the
medical resources (Beauchamp and promotion of health, the prevention of
Childress, 2001; Beal and Cappiello, illness, the restoration of health, the
2008) alleviation of suffering, and the provision of
 In addition, the Code of Ethics for Nurses supportive care to those who are dying.
serves the following purposes:
 It is a succinct statement of the ethical 1.4 The right to self-determination
obligations and duties of every individual
 Respect for human dignity requires the
who enters the nursing profession.
recognition of specific patient rights,
 It is the profession’s nonnegotiable ethical particularly, the right of self-determination.
standard. Self-determination, also known as
 It is an expression of nursing’s own autonomy, is the philosophical basis for
understanding of its commitment to society. informed consent in health care. Patients
1.1 Respect for human dignity have the moral and legal right to determine
what will be done with their own person; to
 A fundamental principle that underlies all be given accurate, complete, and
nursing practice is respect for the inherent understandable information in a manner
worth, dignity, and human rights of every that facilitates an informed judgment; to be
individual. Nurses take int account the needs assisted with weighing the benefits,
and values of all persons in all professional burdens, and available options in their
relationships. treatment, including the choice of no
treatment; to accept, refuse, or terminate
1.2 Relationships to patients
treatment without deceit, undue influence,
 The need for health care is universal, duress, coercion, or penalty; and to be given
transcending all individual differences. The necessary support throughout the decision-
making and treatment process. Such support assigning activities to others who carry out
would include the opportunity to make nursing care. For example, some advanced
decisions with family and significant others practice nurses have the authority to issue
and the provision of advice and support from prescription and treatment orders to be
knowledgeable nurses and other health carried out by other nurses. These acts are
professionals. Patients should be involved in not acts of delegation. Both the advanced
planning their own health care to the extent practice nurse issuing the order and the
they are able and choose to participate. nurse accepting the order are responsible for
the judgments made and accountable for the
2.2 Conflict of interest for nurses
actions taken.
 Nurses are frequently put in situations of 4.2 Accountability for nursing judgement and action
conflict arising from expectations from
patients, families, physicians, colleagues,  Accountability means to be answerable to
and in many cases, health care organizations oneself and others for one’s own actions. In
and health plans. Nurses must examine the order to be accountable, nurses act under a
conflicts arising between their own personal code of ethical conduct that is grounded in
and professional values, the values and the moral principles of fidelity and respect
interests of others who are also responsible for the dignity, worth, and self-
for patient care and health care decisions, as determination of patients. Nurses are
well as those of patients. Nurses strive to accountable for judgments made and
resolve such conflicts in ways that ensure actions taken in the course of nursing
patient safety, guard the patient’s best practice, irrespective of health care
interests and preserve the professional organizations’ policies or providers’
integrity of the nurse. directives. The Standards apply to registered
nurses who provide preconception,
4.1 Acceptance of accountability and responsibility antepartum, intrapartum, postpartum and
 Individual registered nurses bear primary newborn care and to women’s health.
responsibility for the nursing care that their Registered nurses who provide care across
patients receive and are individually the woman’s life span or targeted to specific
accountable for their own practice. Nursing ages and stages of development.
practice includes direct care activities, acts Ethical Issues of Abortion Historical Overview
of delegation, and other responsibilities such
as teaching, research, and administration. In  The Bible is silent on the specific issue of
each instance, the nurse retains abortion
accountability and responsibility for the  Christianity has always opposed abortion,
quality of practice and for conformity with but the definition of abortion has changed
standards of care. Nurses are faced with over time
decisions in the context of the increased  In the 5th century the Christian church said
complexity and changing patterns in the celibacy was the ideal...but that posed a
delivery of health care. As the scope of problem for the survival of the church
nursing practice changes, the nurse must  So St. Augustine revised the Catholic position
exercise judgment in accepting to allow sex in marriage but only for the
responsibilities, seeking consultation, and purpose of procreation...this abortion was
wrong because it defeated the purpose of  Jane Roe, a.k.a. Norma McCorvey was a
sex woman living in Dallas, Texas, where
 By the 12th century Christian doctrine abortion was illegal
differentiated between the “formed” and  She wanted a safe abortion performed by a
“unformed” embryo physician in a clinical setting, so she
 Thomas Aquinas taught that God ensouled challenged Texas state law, suing for the
male embryos at 40 days and female constitutional right to an abortion
embryos at 90 days  The Supreme Court, in a 7 to 2 decision, said
 Thus, it was sinful to abort, but less sinful to that Texas abortion laws were
abort a female embyro at 40 days than a unconstitutional because it violated the 14th
male embryo at 40 days Amendment’s Right to Privacy and Due
 In 1896 Pope Pius IX put a blanket ban on all Process
forms of abortion  However, the court recognized
 However, the Catholic doctrine of double circumstances in which states could pass
effect allowed abortion in the case of ectopic abortion laws:
pregnancy and uterine cancer  If the fetus was viable, meaning potentially
 From the 17th - 19th centuries abortion was able to exist outside the mother’s womb,
considered a religious offense but few legal albeit with artificial aid
systems bothered to actually prosecute it.  Viability at that time was assessed at about
 In the US this changed after the Civil War 7 months (28 weeks) but could be pushed as
when birthing became far forward as 24 weeks.
Margaret Sanger (1879 – 1966) Forms of Abortion
 She was an American birth control activist,  Abdominal trauma

sex educator, and nurse who popularized the  Methotrexate Injection
term birth control.  Suction Aspiration
 In 1921, Sanger founded the American Birth  Dilation and Evacuation
Control League, which later became the  Prostoglandins Injection
Planned Parenthood Federation of America.  Saline Amniocentesis (Salt Poisoning)
 Hysterectomy
Sherri Finkbine (1962)
 “Partial Birth” Abortion
 After taking thalidomide tranquilizers and
Partial Birth Abortion
learning that they caused severe birth
defects Sherri Finkbine wanted a safe  Method of abortion used during the second
abortion or third trimester where the fetus partially
 An abortion was scheduled, but the local exits the birth canal, and the physician
D.A. threatened to prosecute collapses the fetus’ skull then uses delivers a
 The Finkbines traveled to Sweden where the dead baby
severely deformed fetus was aborted legally  In the 1990s many states banned Partial
 Abortion had been legal in Sweden since Birth Abortion
1940
Roe v. Wade, 1973

 In 2000 in the case of Stenberg v. Carhart, Fetal Research

the Supreme Court said that Nebraska’s ban
was unconstitutional  In 1979, Congress banned all federally
 In 2003 Congress responded to the Supreme funded research involving fetuses or
Court’s decision by passing the Federal embryos
Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act which  This includes late term fetuses, and all
maintains that “PBA” is never necessary to embryos older than three days
maintain the health of the mother.  In 1993 President Clinton lifted the ban on
fetal tissue research...allowing the tissue
Personhood vs. Viability from aborted fetuses to be used in research
if the woman agrees to it after the abortion
 When does personhood begin?  Is viability
too nebulous a term given the fact that The Morning After Pill
neonatal technology is constantly
advancing?  Emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs)—
 Does it matter...if a woman does not want a sometimes simply referred to as emergency
baby is that the end of the issue? contraceptives (ECs) or the "morning-after
pill"— are drugs intended to disrupt or delay
Foreign Anti-Abortion Laws ovulation or fertilization, which are
necessary for pregnancy (contraceptives)
 There are only six countries where abortion Myfegyne (mifepristone)
is not allowed or performed under any
 Ends a pregnancy that is less than 7 weeks
circumstances
along (49 days or less since the start of your
 Chile last menstrual period).
 El Salvador  Originally known as RU-486, it was approved
 Malta for abortion in the United States by the FDA,
 Nicaragua in September 2000. It is legal and available in
 The Philippines all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Guam, and
 Vatican City Puerto Rico. It is a prescription drug, but it is
not available to the public through
Foreign Pro-Abortion Laws
pharmacies; its distribution is restricted to
 China has practiced forced abortions as a specially qualified licensed physicians, sold
means of population control since the 1970s by Danco Laboratories under the tradename
 Couples are allowed one child, but in rare Mifeprex.
cases a couple is allowed a second child if
The Conscience Clause
they pay a large fine to the government
 In the case of rape and unmarried pregnant  Health provider “refusal clauses” (also
women forced abortions are often practiced known as "conscience clauses") were first
enacted in response to the United States
Attempted Abortions Resulting in Live Birth
Supreme Court's decision in the Roe v. Wade
 Late-term abortions can sometimes result in case, 410 U.S. 113 (1973)
live births  Now, the issue is expanding as pharmacists
 Most physicians today will rarely perform an are refusing to fill emergency contraception
abortion after 23-week gestation and contraception prescriptions. This
movement resulted in the term “conscience

clause," which gives pharmacists the right to
refuse to perform certain services based on
a violation of personal beliefs or values.
 46 states permit refusal to provide
abortions, 17 states permit refusal to
perform sterilization, and 13 states permit
refusal to provide contraceptives.

Principles-of-Bioethics Midterm Notes

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Principles-of-Bioethics Midterm Notes

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FATHER SATURNINO URIOS UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF NURSING BATCH 2024

1. Principles of Bioethics  Participate in setting visions for health-care

Roles of Nurses as Stewards  Transplanting organs from one living person to

3. The risk taken by the donor as an Sexually and Human Reproduction

 knowledge of anatomy & physiology

 fantasy  MORAL VALUES: relate to our conduct with and

Utilitarianism goal of ethics is to seek the happiness of all

and so on to engage in extra-marital Issues today in Christian ethics

 Prostitution was condemned.  Taoists believed that it was wasteful for a

FEMINIST THEORY  Kant’s Definition of Marriage

thereby acquire you, which “you”  To treat a person as a “mere means” is to

1. It is never right to treat another human being Bellioti: Final comments

 The role of religion: Belliotti is not providing  This is an existential understanding of

 An action is wrong if and only if (and enhance the personal well-being of

as capable of successfully raising  A record was set for what is thought to be

without knowing it. Ethico-moral nurse establishes relationships and delivers

Margaret Sanger (1879 – 1966) Forms of Abortion

 She was an American birth control activist,  Abdominal trauma

Roe v. Wade, 1973

 In 2000 in the case of Stenberg v. Carhart, Fetal Research

movement resulted in the term “conscience

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