Medical Ethics II Flashcards
1
Q
Article 2- Right to life (1)
A
- 1) Everyone’s right to life shall be protected by law. No one shall be deprived of his life intentionally (save in the execution of a sentence of a court following his conviction of a crime for which this penalty is provided by law)
- 2) Deprivation of life shall not be regarded as inflicted in contravention of this article when it results from the use of force which is no more than absolutely necessary
- A) In defence of any person from unlawful violence
- B) In order to effect a lawful arrest or to prevent the escape of a person lawfully detained
- C) In action lawfully taken for the purpose of quelling a riot or insurrection
2
Q
Article 2- Right to life (2)
A
- Negative right not to be killed
- Positive right to have the state take steps to prevent against being killed unlawfully
- Article 2 primarily concerned with intentional killing resulting from the use of force by agents of the state
- Also imposes positive actions
- To prohibit the taking of life
- To prevent and suppress offences against the person
- To carry out investigation when individuals killed by the use of force
3
Q
Article 2 in healthcare
A
- Nitecki v Poland
- And issue may arise under article 2 where it is shown that the authorities of a contracting state put an individual’s life at risk through the denial of healthcare which they have undertaken to make available to the population generally
4
Q
Article 3- Prohibition of torture
A
- No one shall be subjected to torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Implications for healthcare
- Is the denial of euthanasia contrary to article 3
- Diane Pretty case-
- Could some forms of non-consensual treatment fall foul of article 3
- Is the denial of euthanasia contrary to article 3
5
Q
Article 8- Right to privacy and family life
A
- Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence
- There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder of crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others
6
Q
Glass v UK
A
- Doctors administered diamorphine to a child who they believed to be dying as a palliative measure
- This was against the wishes of the child’s mother, who thought that the diamorphine would decrease the child’s chances of recovery, and without any court order although there was plenty of time to get one
- This was deemed to have been contrary to Article 8(1)- the child’s privacy had been breached
- If there is a dispute as to the best interests of a patient, there should be a court order unless urgent treatment is necessary
7
Q
Exercise 1
A
- A countries much-loved leader has been rushed to a hospital, grievously wounded by an assassin’s bullet, he needs a heart and lung transplant immediately to survive
- No suitable donors are available, but there is a homeless person in ITU who is being kept alive on a respirator, who probably only has a few days to live, and who is a perfect donor
- Without the transplant, the leader will die; the homeless person will die in a few days anyway
- Security at the hospital is very tightly controlled. The transplant team could hasten the death of the homeless person and carry out the transplant without the public ever knowing that they killed the homeless person for his organs
- What should they do
8
Q
Exercise 2
A
- A world-famous violinist has a fatal kidney ailment
- You alone have the right blood type etc to help
- You wake up to discover the violinist has been attached to you without your consent. He is now using your kidney
- He will die due to kidney failure if he is disconnected now
- He can safely be disconnected in 9 months
- You will suffer no long term effects but will obviously be greatly inconvenienced over the next few months
- Are you ethically obliged not to disconnect yourself from the violinist
9
Q
Beginning of life (1)
Moral issues
A
- Right to reproduce
- Interests of potential child
- Interests of potential parents
- Interests of state
- Who should have access to assisted reproduction/conception technologies
- Heterosexual, same-sex, single, surrogates, other women
10
Q
Assisted reporduction/conception
A
- Examples of moral/legal issues
- Posthumous insemination
- IVF
- Parenthood
- Consent to storage and use of embryos
- Break-up of relationship
- Multiple pregnancies
- Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis
- Saviour siblings
11
Q
Controlling fertility and pregnancy
Sterilisation
A
- Voluntary sterilisation
- Consent issues
- Non-voluntary sterilisation
- Incompetent patients
- Court’s permission required for non-consensual sterilisation
- Permission only granted if in patient’s best intrest
- Moral issues
- Right to reproduce
- Incompetent patients
12
Q
Termination of pregnancy
A
- Moral issues include
- Autonomy, rights and interests
- When does life begin
- Whose life is more important
- Advances in technology
- Status of embryo and foetus
- Is abortion always wrong
13
Q
Exercise 2 (revisited)
A
14
Q
End of life
A
- Death
- Obligation to prolong life
- Ethical concepts
- Sanctity of life
- Quality of life
- End of life distinctions
- Euthanasia
- Assisted suicide
- Ethical concepts
15
Q
Hillsborough Disaster
A
- The Hillsborough disaster was a deadly human crash that occurred on April 15, 1989, at Hillsborough football stadium in Sheffield, resulting in the loss of 96 lives
