Bioethics and Medical Practice (Analysis of a Clinic Case)

Abstract

The author presents a case of a 61-year old American woman who gets into cardiac intensive care with a mild heart attack. She refuses to be resuscitated during, before or after the surgery, while the surgeon insists on her permission for resuscitation, because he is not willing to do surgery “with his hands tied”.  The author analyses in detail the patient’s and surgeon’s conflicting interests taking into account the historical and cultural context of how their understand their rights and duties, as well as the changing ethical values of medical profession (to do good vs. to respect patient’s autonomy). The author’s recommendations on how to resolve this ethical dilemma are in line with today’s western bioethical thinking: 1) to make sure the patient has all the information to make an autonomous choice; 2) let her decide; 3) in case she decides to remain DNAR find another surgeon who could handle the operation on these conditions.

Litarature

Beauchamp, T.L. and Childress, J.F. (2009), Principles of biomedical ethics, 6th ed., Oxford University Press, Inc.

Cotter, P.E., Simon, M., Quinn, C. and O’keeffe, S.T. (2009), “Changing attitudes to cardiopulmonary resuscitation in older people: a 15-year follow-up study”, Age and Ageing, Vol. 38 No. 2, pp. 200–205.