II. Research:
A. Source 1: Life after death? Ethical questions raised after a request for postmortem sperm retrieval in the emergency department
URL: http://tinyurl.com/ho8efq5; http://preview.tinyurl.com/ho8efq5 *URL was extensively long* This article relates to the central ethical issue because it discusses the ethical dimensions of postmortem sperm retrieval, as well as a specific dilemma when it was requested. This source provides background information on how postmortem sperm retrieval came to be. In 1980, the first request was made by a women whose husband died from a head injury. A study from the Journal of Urology also reported that many of the requests for postmortem sperm retrieval were made by significant others and wives. This
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The author discusses how the United States does not have any set government regulations regarding postmortem sperm retrieval and that it is up to medical institutions to make the decision if they will help a patient with PMSR. The author also mentions a plethora of ethical concerns regarding postmortem sperm retrieval. One of these concerns has to deal with the potential child: Is it in the best interest of a child to be born into the world with no father? Many medical institutions will perform the retrieval if there is enough evidence proving that the deceased man wanted to have children. The medical institution will honor a request for postmortem sperm retrieval if the couple expressed wanting to have children to many of their family members and friends. In the article, the author mentions a man by the name of Arthur Caplan, head of the division of medical ethics at the NYU Langone Medical Center. Caplan states that the man’s wishes should be clear in order to go through with the postmortem sperm retrieval. As a matter of fact, some institutions require written consent from the deceased man before they retrieve any sperm. In conclusion, the author suggests that there need to be set polices regarding postmortem sperm retrieval, and that these policies are in the best interest of the families and the …show more content…
This article relates to the main ethical question because it discusses the several reasons why postmortem sperm retrieval is attempted. For example, the authors discuss a specific incident in France where the widow of a cancer patient requested her deceased husband’s sperm be stored; she argued that her departed husband wanted this. The authors go on to state that different governments have different rules regarding postmortem sperm retrieval. In places such as France, Germany, Sweden, and Canada, these countries have legislation that prohibit all posthumous assisted reproduction. This shows that many countries are against PMSR, but why? The authors also mention that physicians do not have a duty to carry out the request of postmortem sperm retrieval. In actuality, a physician has the right to choose if they want to perform the retrieval or not, and they are free to decline. Another issue the authors bring up is the interests of the child. The author mentions, “The concern is that bringing the child into a single parent household would be harmful to the child” (Strong, Gingrich, and Kutteh). They argue that a child raised in a single home would experience certain disadvantages, as compared to a child being raised in a two-parent home. But, the authors also mention that many say it is not wrong for parents to have children when they know their child will experience some disadvantages in
There are many convincing and compelling arguments for and against Physician Assisted Suicide. There are numerous different aspects of this issue, including religious, legal and ethical issues. However, for the purpose of this paper, I will examine the ethical concerns of both sides. There are strong pro and con arguments regarding this, and I will make a case for both. It is definitely an issue that has been debated for years and will continue to be debated in years to come.
Research on human fetal life involves numerous complex medical, moral, and legal aspects. It is not always easy, nor desirable, to seal off one aspect from another. Both sides of fetal tissue use will be equally focused on as a moral issue. The topic is a timely and important one because research on human fetal life is reportedly a growing industry and the subject of legal developments both in the United States and around the world.
Our culture has a stringent belief that creating new life if a beautiful process which should be cherished. Most often, the birth process is without complications and the results are a healthy active child. In retrospect, many individuals feel that there are circumstances that make it morally wrong to bring a child into the world. This is most often the case when reproduction results in the existence of another human being with a considerably reduced chance at a quality life. To delve even further into the topic, there are individuals that feel they have been morally wronged by the conception in itself. Wrongful conception is a topic of debate among many who question the ethical principles involved with the sanctity of human life. This paper will analyze the ethical dilemmas of human dignity, compassion, non-malfeasance, and social justice, as well the legal issues associated with wrongful conception.
Braddok III Clarence H. MD MPH .” Physician aid-in-dying: Ethical topics in medicine” n.d University of Washington school of medicinestate death with dignity act” N.p n.d University of Washington department of bioethics and humanities 2009 web 24 March 2012
The addition of a child into a family’s home is a happy occasion. Unfortunately, some families are unable to have a child due to unforeseen problems, and they must pursue other means than natural pregnancy. Some couples adopt and other couples follow a different path; they utilize in vitro fertilization or surrogate motherhood. The process is complicated, unreliable, but ultimately can give the parents the gift of a child they otherwise could not have had. At the same time, as the process becomes more and more advanced and scientists are able to predict the outcome of the technique, the choice of what child is born is placed in the hands of the parents. Instead of waiting to see if the child had the mother’s eyes, the father’s hair or Grandma’s heart problem, the parents and doctors can select the best eggs and the best sperm to create the perfect child. Many see the rise of in vitro fertilization as the second coming of the Eugenics movement of the 19th and early 20th century. A process that is able to bring joy to so many parents is also seen as deciding who is able to reproduce and what child is worthy of birthing.
The advancement and continued developments of third-party assisted reproductive medical practices has allowed many prospective parents, regardless of their marital status, age, or sexual orientation, to have a new opportunity for genetically or biologically connected children. With these developments come a number of rather complex ethical issues and ongoing discussions regarding assisted reproduction within our society today. These issues include the use of reproductive drugs, gestational services such as surrogacy as well as the rights of those seeking these drugs and services and the responsibilities of the professionals who offer and practice these services.
Warren, Mary Anne , and Mappes and D. DeGrazia. "On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion." Biomedical Ethics 4th (1996): 434-440. Print.
Many studies have been done pertaining to egg donation and its medical aspect, but very few studies shows the ethical implications of egg donations. Health Laws such as Fertility Clinic Success Rate and Certification Act,1992 regulates the advertisement of success rate of fertility clinic. Only few states have federal laws for informed consent from egg donors (1-3). Informed consent means that donor understands all the minor details surrounding the egg donation procedure, its side-effects- medical, legal, ethical and emotional and gives permission to undergo the procedure without hesitation or coercion.
Gestational surrogacy, especially when it involves commercial surrogates, challenges the status quo in the ethical theory of reproduction, because with this technology the process of producing a child can no longer remain a private matter. Now a public contract exists between two parties, the couple and the surrogate ...
Test tube babies have long been stigmatized by society as the unnatural results of scientific dabbling. The words `test tube baby' have been used by school children as an insult, and many adults have seen an artificial means of giving birth as something perhaps only necessary for a lesbian woman, or a luxury item only available to the elite few. The reality is that assisted reproductive technologies (ART) have been helping infertile couples have children since 1978.1 The methods of in vitro fertilization, it's variants, and the other ART procedures are ways for persons that would otherwise have no hope of conception to conceive and, in a rapidly growing percentage of cases, give birth to healthy babies. As the technology has developed, the quality and range of assistance has developed as well. At present, the means of assisted reproduction and the capabilities of these procedures has grown at a somewhat dizzying pace. However, thought to the repercussions of the applications of ART are being disregarded to some extent while the public's knowledge and the understanding of embryologists and geneticists surges forward. It is possible given consideration to things such as the morality of these techniques, the unexplored alternative uses of these procedures, and the potential impact they posses that further development is unnecessary and possibly dangerous.
Imagine yourself in a society in which individuals with virtually incurable diseases could gain the essential organs and tissues that perfectly match those that are defected through the use of individual human reproductive cloning. In a perfect world, this could be seen as an ideal and effective solution to curing stifling biomedical diseases and a scarcity of available organs for donation. However, this approach in itself contains many bioethical flaws and even broader social implications of how we could potentially view human clones and integrate them into society. Throughout the focus of this paper, I will argue that the implementation of human reproductive cloning into healthcare practices would produce adverse effects upon family dynamic and society due to its negative ethical ramifications. Perhaps the most significant conception of family stems from a religious conception of assisted reproductive technologies and cloning and their impact on family dynamics with regard to its “unnatural” approach to procreation. Furthermore, the broader question of the ethical repercussions of human reproductive cloning calls to mind interesting ways in which we could potentially perceive and define individualism, what it means to be human and the right to reproduction, equality and self-creation in relation to our perception of family.
President's Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral Research. Defining Death: A Report on the Medical, Legal and Ethical Issues in the Determination of Death. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1981.
With every new technology that is born, there must be many questions as to whether this technology is beneficial or harmful as well as analyze who is affects. This especially holds true in dealing with the technology of artificial insemination. With the cultural mainstreaming of artificial insemination, there have been many articles written discussing the ethics of such decisions. Most of these articles are written by feminist authors with the purpose of discussing the impact of this new technology on women and how it affects their roles as mothers in society.
Autopsy can be performed privately if the attending physician or family members request for one. The introduction of virtopsy would allow more inquiry into determining the cause of death in non-criminal cases where families may object the destructive nature of the autopsy and/or due to religious beliefs prohibiting cutting open of the body. For example, the religion of the Orthodox Judaism and Islam stresses the non-violation of the dead bodies and quick burial. The appeal of virtopsy thus provides an alternative where pathologist or doctors are able to avoid the uncomfortable task of asking the grieving family members for consent on performing a conventional autopsy to confirm the cause of death. The shift in the perception of the public would likely play a part in contributing to the increase use of virtopsy as the public becomes known of its presence.
Vietnam is one of those countries which beauty cannot be comprehended without ever visiting it. Not much about the country is well known except for its famous noodles the “Pho.” For example, only a few people know that the country broke off from the Chinese empire in 938AD. As a result some of the Vietnamese culture are of Chinese origins. The local culture revolves around the belief of humanity and harmony which makes them pleasant to be around. However, like other Southeast Asian countries Vietnam has a few issues considering safety in different aspects of the country, such as food and transportation. Regardless of these slight safety issues, Vietnam is certainly a family destination that should be not taken off the bucket list.