Medical Ethics

Question 1

What is the problem with medical ethics?

Answer 1

Medical ethical issues are both subjective and controversial, rendering any religious, secular or ethical principles difficult to substantiate and support, often creating confusion.

Question 2

How many U.K. couples are now using Assisted Reproductive Technologies to conceive?

Answer 2

5%

Question 3

Why do Roman Catholics object to mitochondrial donation?

Answer 3

They believed the practice to be unsafe and unethical as it requires the destruction of embryos.

Question 4

Why is the destruction of embryos not permissible to Roman Catholics?

Answer 4

It breaches what is taught in the bible and in Natural Law, further more the Decalogue sates “you shall not murder” exodus 20:13.

Question 5

What do Roman Catholics believe that embryos can be seen as?

Answer 5

Seen as the potentiality for life, even if not actuality of human life in themselves.

Question 6

Where is the backing for the idea that embryos are the potentiality of life in the Roman Catholic faith.

Answer 6

The Gift of Life, Donum Vitae (1987), para.23, a document produced by the Pope to guide people as to the Roman Catholic church’s views on the overall impact of IVF, it reads; “Life, once conceived, must be protected with the utmost care; abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes.”

Question 7

Why is mitochondrial donation seen as a direct act against God?

Answer 7

As it requires the destruction of Embryos.

Question 8

Why doesn’t IVF within mitochondrial donation comply with Natural Law?

Answer 8

It separates the unitive from the procreative, within the sexual act itself, a principle that underpins the Roman Catholic ideal that surrounds sexual intercourse without sin, and without which, it cannot be deemed to be within God’s plan.

Question 9

Why is altering the intention of the sexual act a negative thing?

Answer 9

As it can therefore be seen as treating the child as a commodity, a action which would hence go against the principle of The Sanctity of Life, which is a cornerstone of Roman Catholic faith.

Question 10

What is the backing for the sanctity of life principle?

Answer 10

Roman Catholics believe that, God, “in his own image, in the image of god, he created him, male and female, he created them”.

Question 11

Why is treating the child as a commodity bad?

Answer 11

Because God cares for all people, therefore rendering any act that treats a child as a commodity as a direct act against God.

Question 12

What is the overall view that the Roman Catholics hold on mitochondrial donation?

Answer 12

It is against God and therefore must be banned.

Question 13

Where does secular support for Roman Catholic’s come from?

Answer 13

David King, a spokesman for the Human Genetics Alert group, claimed that changing the law on mitochondrial donation would “open the door to further genetic modification of children in the future.”

Question 14

What’s wrong with the ‘three parent baby’ law?

Answer 14

It may lead to a world in which we can pick and choose the characteristics and traits of children and create so called ‘designer babies’, as we allow the alteration of the genome, the coding for the entirety of our genetic make-up.

Question 15

How does David King illustrate the designer baby concept?

Answer 15

“Once you cross the ethical line, it is very hard not to take the next step of designer babies.”

Question 16

What’s wrong with designing babies?

Answer 16

It is morally wrong for it inhibits the natural progression of the world and therefore forces the child to be governed, from their base embryonic cells until death, by our ideals of what is right and wrong in the eyes of our current society.

Question 17

What question does the genetic modification within the practice of IVF make us ask?

Answer 17

Just because we are able to do something should we?

Question 18

What did Gillian Lockwood say with backing from her own, and other, scientific research?

Answer 18

“The biggest problem is that this has been described as three parent IVF. In fact it is 2.001 parent IVF… It doesn’t affect height, eye colour, intelligence or musicality. It simply allows the batteries to work properly.”

Question 19

What ethical position can Gillian Lockwood be seen as taking?

Answer 19

That of a situation ethicist.

Question 20

What does Gillian Lockwood’s view mean?

Answer 20

It means that any issues with the personality or physicality of the child being altered are negated.`

Question 21

Who developed virtue ethics?

Answer 21

Aristotle

Question 22

What does virtue ethics suggest of IVF?

Answer 22

That the intrusive and complex nature of IVF requires more than merely offering a service.

Question 23

What did William May suggest?

Answer 23

That when a doctor makes a promise it is a performative act; it creates a new situation in which a patient knows their life is valued and cared for.

Question 24

With the concept of non-maleficence in mind what virtues should be remembered when considering mitochondrial donation?

Answer 24

Perseverance and humility.

Question 25

What is the Hippocratic Oath that the virtue of humility asks a physician to remember?

Answer 25

“Whatsoever house I may enter, my visit shall be for the convenience and advantage of the patient; and I will willingly refrain from doing any injury or wrong from falsehood”

Question 26

What should a physician remember?

Answer 26

That they shouldn't cause harm and must consider the patient first; where it might be tempting to carry out mitochondrial donation as the new procedure presents a new challenge they sure first ensure that this really is the right course of action for both the parents and their possible unborn child.

Question 27

What did Professor Lisa Jardine, head of the HFEA, say?

Answer 27

“All of these issues have been investigated. The scientific committees have said there is no evidence it is unsafe, but like all good scientists, they say it will require careful progress.”

Question 28

In light of Professor Jardine's comment, how does virtue ethics see mitochondrial donation?

Answer 28

It is morally justified.

Question 29

What is situation ethics?

Answer 29

Joseph Fletcher’s aforementioned situation ethics theory, devised from the teachings of Jesus in the Gospels concerning agape, Fletcher suggests that we should always act in the most loving way in each situation, which appealed to the theologian Rudolf Bultmann, to whom Jesus taught no other ethical approach than “love thy neighbour”.

Question 30

How does mitochondrial donation work in relation to situation ethics?

Answer 30

Mitochondrial donation complies with all four of Fletcher’s proposed working principles that guide situation ethics; pragmatism, relativism, positivism and personalism.

Question 31

Why does mitochondrial donation comply with the four working principles/

Answer 31

It allows the child to live a full and prosperous life when they otherwise would not be able to, which is surely the most possible loving outcome.

Question 32

What is revealed ethics?

Answer 32

The use of biblical teachings to guide ethical decisions rather than those of the church

Question 33

Why does revealed ethics agree with mitochondrial donation?

Answer 33

As it place emphasis on the strong sanctity of life Christian teaching as a principle, rather than Natural Law as the Roman Catholics do, to propose its guidelines on such ethical decisions.

Question 34

Why is mitochondrial donation viewed as good by the conservative Christians of revealed ethics?

Answer 34

Mitochondrial donation can be seen to support the family, as having a child is the driving force behind their ethical understanding, rather than the actual biological making of the child.

Question 35

To appease those of revealed ethics what must mitochondrial donation have?

Answer 35

To make any theological and psychological sense there must be openness and honesty from the start. Providing a child knows how and why they have been brought into being then the question of their exact genetic origin becomes less important.

Question 36

Why must a child know their genetic identity according to revealed ethics?

Answer 36

If a child understands the story of their own identity as a willed and loving action, then they have the essential requirement to gain their own sense of self worth and only in this way does mitochondrial donation fit the principles of revealed ethics.

Question 37

What is Utilitarianism?

Answer 37

A major set of guidelines to secularised principles concerning any ethical controversy comes from the principle of Utilitarianism, developed by Jeremy Bentham, which primarily revolves around the idea of “the greatest good for the greatest number” (originally developed by Francis Hutcheson but adopted by Jeremy Bentham to illustrate Utilitarianism).

Question 38

What can the Benthamite approach to ethics be seen as?

Answer 38

Purely teleological, as, as long as the end provides a greater happiness than the pain caused during the process, then the actions to achieve this happiness are irrelevant.

Question 39

Why does UT agree with mitochondrial donation from the child's perspective?

Answer 39

As before the change in legislation was recently passed, children born with mitochondrial syndromes and disorders had no cure available to them, meaning that they would be fortunate if they were to live past infant hood. Furthermore if the children did survive infanthood, they lived in a constant degenerative state of which they could not escape.

Question 40

Why does UT agree with mitochondrial donation from the parent's perspective?

Answer 40

For a parent whose child is born with any macular degenerative disease, life can only be lived from one day to the next as they know that their child will die, this causes unaccountable levels of emotional pain and will leave the parents scarred for the rest of their lives.

Question 41

Why does UT agree with mitochondrial donation from society's perspective?

Answer 41

One may see that economically it is a massive drain as each year it costs an extortionate amount to just keep a single child alive, let alone the cost of medical training and the hours of work that carers have to dedicate.

Question 42

Why does looking at mitochondrial donation form a utilitarian perspective make one agree with it?

Answer 42

As it eradicates all these problems and enables a more progressive society free from the harm of macular degenerative diseases.

Question 43

What is the conclusion for religious principles on mitochondrial donation?

Answer 43

Religious and moral principles provide essential guidelines for medical ethics, and in particular on mitochondrial donation. Yet, I feel that whilst Roman Catholic principles lack thorough understanding of the full positive impact of IVF and, primarily, mitochondrial donation, other religious principles, such as Joseph Fletcher’s Situation ethics and Revealed ethics, do offer a clear and effective guideline on the legitimacy of IVF as a force of good within their priciples.

Question 44

What is the conclusion for secular principles on mitochondrial donation?

Answer 44

Secular and ethical principles, such as Virtue Ethics and Utilitarianism, are more accurate in their guidelines as they have a greater practicality in the ever evolving and adaptable world that is the nature of Medical Ethics, as by nature they are not hindered by the same outdated guidelines that Religious principles are.