Medical Ethics Flashcards
Ethics
Studying how people make moral decisions and the rights and wrongs of different decisions
Medical ethics
A type of ethics which looks at the moral decisions faced by doctors, scientists and vets
Sanctity of life
The belief that human life is very special and incredibly valuable
Pro-life
The belief that saving or protecting human lives is more important than anything else
Quality of life
The standard of health, comfort and happiness experienced by a person in their day-to-day life
Pro-choice
A person has the right to choose what happens to them
Kantian ethics
A way of making ethical decisions that was developed by Immanuel Kent in the 1700s
Kantian ethics rules
1: Never treat people as a ‘means to end’
2: You should only do something you would be happy for everyone to do
Utilitarian rules
1: Always do whatever causes the most happiness for the most number of people
2:Everyones happiness must count equally
