Casuistry and Landmark Cases Flashcards
casuistry
- case based reasoning, focusing on practical decision-making in particular cases based on precedent
- method in applied ethics and jurisprudence often characterized as a critique of principle
universalizability
- whatever is right (or wrong) in one situation is right (or wrong) in any relevantly similar situation
- a basic logical feature of all moral discourse
utilitarianism
- morality should be guided by the “greatest good for the greatest number”
- utility or happiness for all should be maximized
- also called consequentialism; the rightness or wrongness of actions and institutions is a function of the goodness or badness of their consequences
kantian ethics
- deontological, rule based
1. persons as ends-in-themselves
2. social contract theory
3. universalizability
hypothetical imperatives
- apply to someone who wishes to attain certain ends
- for example: if i want to pass the exam, i must study
virtue ethics
- the key ethical concept is neither utility, rights, nor principles, but virtue, or good character traits, which is what moral education should focus on developing.
- for example: self control, truthfulness, generosity, compassion, discernment, integrity
intellectual virtues
preference for truth over falsehood and for clarity over muddle, both in pure reason and in practical affairs
case based approach
based on four “topics” that are intrinsic to every clinical encounter:
- medical indications
- patient preferences
- quality of life
- contextual features
1946-1947 - nuremberg war crimes trials
23 German doctors were charged with crimes against humanity for “performing medical experiments upon concentration camp inmates and other living human subjects, without their consent, in the course of which experiments the defendants committed the murders, brutalities, cruelties, tortures, atrocities, and other inhuman acts…”
The Nuremberg Code (1947)
- voluntary consent
- benefits outweigh risks
- ability of the subject to terminate participation
1932 to 1972 - Tuskegee Syphilis study
American medical research project conducted by the U.S. Public Health Service, examined the natural course of untreated syphilis in black American men.
The subjects, all impoverished sharecroppers from Macon county, Alabama, were unknowing participants in the study; they were not told that they had syphilis, nor were they offered effective treatment
1951 - Henrietta Lacks
An African-American woman who was the unwitting source of cells from her cancerous tumor which were cultured by George Otto Gey to create the first known human immortal cell line for medical research.
The HeLa cell line was “immortal” and used extensively around the world for research and biomedical industries.
Neither she nor her family were informed of the widespread use of the cells
1973 - Dax Cowart
Suffered severe burns and challenged efforts to sustain his life against his wishes, following an accident in which he suffered severe and disabling burns over most of his body.
1976 - Karen ann quinlan
Landmark “right to die” case
21-year-old woman in a persistent vegetative state, whose parents filed suit to remove her from life support after health providers refused the request.
Courts endorsed concept of “judicious neglect”
and concept that human life ended when the brain stopped functioning.
1994 - Jack Kevorkian
“Dr. Death,” an American pathologist known for publicly championing a terminal patient’s right to die via physician-assisted suicide;
Claimed to have assisted at least 130 patients to that end.
Helped set the platform for reform. “Dying is not a crime.”
2005 - Terri Schiavo
Florida woman in a persistent vegetative state, whose husband fought to remove her from life support, while her parents fought to keep her on life support from 1990-2005.
Prolonged series of legal challenges presented by her parents, which ultimately involved state and federal politicians, caused a seven-year delay before the feeding tube was ultimately removed.
