Medical Ethics 1 Flashcards
what is personhood
the quality or condition of a person
Who is the main thinker associated with personhood
Joseph Fletcher
what are fletcher’s 8 indications of personhood
curiosity communication concern empathy sense of future sense of past self awareness self control
what is a weakness of personhood
people with disabilities, babies, addicts, injured, ill
more indicators of personhood
socially rationality language user being an embodied soul possessing a network of beliefs autonomy and individuality
what is sanctity of life
typically supported by religious people
life is created by God, therefore it has intrinsic value and should be preserved as much as possible
what is quality of life
supported by more liberal, non religious perspectives
life of very poor quality should not necessarily be preserved
now that people’s lives can be prolonged by medicine and tech, people could have more drawn out painful humiliating deaths
some ethicists argue people should have more choice over when their life ends or begins
what does Peter Singer reject
the idea that humans are a special form of life, specism
Peter Singer quote on what sanctity of life is
no more than a way of saying that human life has some special value
what’s Peter Singer’s view on taking lives
taking lives has no direct consequences on the person whose life you’ve taken, doesn’t effect their pleasure or pain
what are Peter Singer’s indirect consequences of killing people
if that were legal everyone would be scared, increasing pain
in terms of what, should it be legal to take a life? (Peter Singer)
utilitarianism
illegal
Psalm quote on children
127:3
Behold, children are a heritage from the lord
Jeremiah quote about children
1:5
before I formed you in the womb I knew you
genesis quote about creation
1:27
God created man in his own image
What is the biblical view on life
intrinsic value due to life being a gift from God
what is a pre-embryo
before 14 days
what is an embryo
between 14 days and 8 weeks
what is a foetus
post 8 weeks
what factors could there be in terms of a soul
religious and sociobiological
what is embryo research
using cells from embryos for cell-based therapies
testing drugs
enhancing basic knowledge on how cells work
what is created in labs
embryos for medical research purposes
when and where are embryos allowed to be used for research
only allowed to be used in a pre embryo state, 14 days
some cells in the UK extend the limit as technology allows them to survive longer in labs
in a lab
what will happen to embryos used for research
they will be discarded
what is vitro
in glass, test tube
what takes place in vitro
fertilisation in vitro
what is fertilised in a lab and what does it form
sperm cell and ovum
forming a zygote
what is the ethical problem with embryo research and vitro fertilisation
they must be destroyed after 14 days
what does a zygote develop into and what is that
blastula
a pre-embryo having over 100 cells
what do labs often do when conducting vitro fertilisation
often creates more embryos than required as success rate of fertilisation can be low and the surplus is discarded
what is pgd
pre implantation genetic diagnosis
another aspect of IVF, (in vitro fertilisation)
process where embryos are checked for genetic diseases pre implantation
what could pgd lead to
a higher quality of life
what is a weakness of pgd
do healthy people have more value?
what are stem cells useful for in medical research
they can differentiate into any cell in the body
what is a solution of stem cell research which does not include the creation of embryos for research
stem cells can be collected from umbilical cord blood post birth of a healthy baby
what is a weakness of using stem cells from cord blood
adult stem cells only differentiate to a limited number of cells, can’t become any cell in the human body so it is less useful
what is the RCC/NML view on embryo research
wholly rejects it because
it involves procreation outside of a loving marriage and humans should be created in the womb
what do catholics encourage in medical ethics
organ and tissue donation including placenta, umbilical chrd and cord blood
the therapeutic use of stem cells as long as it does not destruct human life
what are 2 things u can do with cord blood
donate
storing it for future use by parents if family gets ill
Pope Francis quote on medical ethics
‘human life is sacred and inviable and the use of parental diagnosis for selective purposes should be discouraged with strength’
