Ethics Committee Week 1: Bioethical Principles

Applying the 4 Principles

1. Case Study: Right to be paralyzed? (Video)

  1. Explain the ethical aspect of the case as though you were explaining it to someone unfamiliar with the case.
  2. Explain which of the 4 bioethical principles are relevant to the case. Explain your appraisal.
  3. Which of the principles do you think should take precedence and why?

2. Reconstructive Surgery and Intersex Children:

Since the mid-twentieth century, U.S. physicians have considered intersex status in infants a “psychosocial emergency” and performed “normalizing” or “reconstructive” genital surgery. When deciding whether to assign the intersex infant “male” or “female,” the factors typically considered are potential for fertility and sexual penetration. These surgeries still continue in the U.S. today despite being medically unnecessary.

  1. Explain the ethical aspect of the case as though you were explaining it to someone unfamiliar with the case.
  2. Explain which of the 4 bioethical principles are relevant to the case. Explain your appraisal.
  3. Which of the principles do you think should take precedence and why?

3. Case: A woman enters the hospital for scheduled cosmetic surgery. Before they start, she complains of stomach pain. She undergoes a CT scan and is diagnosed with an abdominal aortic aneurysm, a weakening in the wall of the aorta which causes it to stretch and bulge. The physicians inform her that the only way to fix the problem is surgically, otherwise, the chances of survival are about 50/50. They also inform her that time is of the essence, and that should the aneurysm burst, she would be dead in a few short minutes. The woman is an erotic dancer; she worries that the surgery will leave a scar that will negatively affect her work; therefore, she refuses any surgical treatment beyond the scheduled cosmetic surgery. Even after much pressuring from the physicians, she adamantly refuses surgery. Feeling that the woman is not in her correct state of mind and knowing that time is of the essence, the surgeons decide to perform the procedure without consent while she’s under for the cosmetic surgery. They anesthetize her and surgically repair the aneurysm. She survives, and sues the hospital for millions of dollars.

  1. Explain the ethical aspect of the case as though you were explaining it to someone unfamiliar with the case.
  2. Explain which of the 4 bioethical principles are relevant to the case. Explain your appraisal.
  3. Which of the principles do you think should take precedence and why?