finals Flashcards
What is abortion?
The expulsion of a living fetus from the mother’s womb before it is viable, either through miscarriage or surgical means.
What does viability refer to in the context of abortion?
The possibility of the fetus to survive outside the uterus, typically before 20 or 24 weeks AOG.
Define spontaneous abortion.
Abortion occurring naturally without artificial means, usually lost in the 1st trimester.
What is threatened abortion?
A condition where the fetus is at risk due to unexplained bleeding, cramping, and backache, with a closed cervix.
What treatment is indicated for threatened abortion?
Bed rest and appropriate medications.
What characterizes imminent abortion?
Increased bleeding and cramping, dilation of the cervix, and potential rupture of membranes.
What occurs in incomplete abortion?
Parts of the products of conception are retained, often the placenta, with a dilated cervix.
What is complete abortion?
All products of conception are expelled from the uterus.
What is missed abortion?
The fetus dies inside the uterus but is not expelled, with a closed cervix.
Define habitual abortion.
Occurs consecutively in 3 or more pregnancies.
What is indirect abortion?
The unintended loss of the fetus following a medical procedure necessary to preserve the mother’s life or health.
What is direct or induced abortion?
The deliberate termination of pregnancy through artificial or mechanical means.
What is criminal abortion?
Abortion performed without any other reason than the child being unwanted, considered murder and legally punishable.
What is therapeutic abortion?
An abortion performed to save the mother’s life or health, morally indistinguishable from criminal abortion.
What moral considerations surround abortion?
Abortion destroys life and violates the right to life, regarded as morally evil.
What does euthanasia literally mean?
Good death.
What is voluntary euthanasia?
Euthanasia conducted with the consent of the patient.
Define non-voluntary euthanasia.
Euthanasia conducted without the patient’s consent, where consent is unavailable.
What is involuntary euthanasia?
Euthanasia conducted against the will of the patient.
What are the two variants of euthanasia?
- Passive euthanasia * Active euthanasia
What is passive euthanasia?
Withholding common treatments necessary for the continuance of life.
What is active euthanasia?
The use of lethal substances or forces to kill.
What is the ethical standpoint on euthanasia?
Euthanasia infringes upon the rights of God and is considered morally wrong.
What is suicide?
The act of intentionally causing one’s own death.
What is unassisted suicide?
Suicide completed without clinician knowledge or intervention.
Define facilitated suicide.
Suicide completed while under clinician care, suggesting a breach of duty.
What is assisted suicide?
A clinician enables suicide by providing lethal means and guidance.
What constitutes clinical death?
When a casualty has stopped breathing, resulting in tissue death and cardiac arrest.
What is biological death?
Occurs when brain cells die due to lack of oxygen, following clinical death.
What is in vitro fertilization?
A process where an egg is combined with sperm in a laboratory setting.
What is the purpose of in vitro fertilization?
- Remedy infertility * Submit embryos for scientific research
What ethical issues are associated with in vitro fertilization?
Pregnancy reduction and experimentation on embryos.
What is the moral consideration regarding embryos in IVF?
Embryos intended for experimentation are not regarded as human persons by some advocates.
What is stem cell?
The body’s raw materials from which specialized cells are generated.
What is totipotent capacity in stem cells?
The ability to become any kind of bodily cell.
Define pluripotent capacity in stem cells.
The ability to produce different specific types of cells.
What is meant by totipotent capacity in stem cells?
Stem cells are capable of becoming any kind of bodily cells.
For example, blood cells from bone marrow can become nerve cells.
What does pluripotent capacity refer to?
Stem cells are capable of being coaxed into producing different specific types of cells.
For example, umbilical cord stem cells can produce blood cells and brain cells.
What is stem cell technology?
A field of medical research studying human and animal stem cells.
Stem cells are essential to the growth and regeneration of organisms.
What are the current uses of stem cells?
Stem cells are used for therapeutic purposes and research suggests potential future benefits in many fields of medicine.
What is the stem cell controversy?
An ethical debate centered on the creation, usage, and destruction of human embryos in stem cell research.
What is the basic ethical problem with embryonic stem cell research?
It brings into tension two moral principles: prevention or alleviation of suffering and respect for the value of human life.
What does informed consent entail?
Agreement by a client to accept a course of treatment after receiving information about it.
What is the moral and legal premise of informed consent?
Patient autonomy, which allows patients to make decisions about their own health and medical conditions.
What are the functions of informed consent?
- Supports the patient’s decision-making process
- Promotes patient’s self-determination
- Promotes physician-patient communication
- Shares the burden of responsibility for treatment
- Supports a fair and reasonable explanation of proposed treatment
What is the physician’s duty to disclose in informed consent?
The nature of the proposed treatment and the risks and benefits of the proposed treatment.
What are exceptions to current informed consent requirements?
- Emergencies
- Legal mandate
- Waiver
- Therapeutic privilege
Fill in the blank: Informed consent is based on the moral and legal premise of _______.
[patient autonomy]
True or False: Not all stem cell research involves the creation, usage, and destruction of human embryos.
True
What practical steps are involved in the informed consent process?
- Determine who may legally consent
- Physician-patient discussion
- Patient decision
- Documentation
- Periodic re-evaluation
What is the quote by Ernest Hemingway regarding morality?
I know only that what is moral is what you feel good after and what is immoral is what you feel bad after.
