Autonomy In Nursing

Because I find Jane to be one patient and not two separate individuals, it is my stance that she is the one that the principle of respect for autonomy applies. That is, as the fetus’s host, Jane should be the only one that is able to make choices in regard to the fetus. I find it odd that some people fight for the rights of the fetus because they believe the fetus possesses human status, but seem to make Jane a second priority. If medical professionals find Jane and the fetus to be two patients, the staff has moral obligations to both of them. If medical professionals feel they have an obligation to the fetus in regard to duty-based principles such as the duty to respect autonomy and consequence-based principles such as nonmaleficence, they

If they had better understood her reasons, they may have been able to better explain the benefits as compared to the risks and put her at ease. Without knowing her reasons for refusal, it is impossible to balance the benefits and harms. The C-section may be beneficent to the fetus, but may be extremely harmful to Jane. In cases of non-emergency, the staff could seek guidance from other hospital resources such as a counselor or therapist. In biomedical cases, it is important to work with others to choose an appropriate course of action. It would be beneficial to understand why Jane is refusing the C-section, but in this case, time is of the essence and speaking to a therapist is not an option. For that reason, I find that Jane has the right to choose what to do with her body and her unborn child even as he/she is in the process of being

While some reasons may not be “good” reasons (i.e., Jane does not want a physical scar), I would feel better knowing exactly what caused her refusal. The reasons may be based on the physical or psychological pain she experienced with her first C-section. Some may argue that it may be more damaging psychologically to give birth to a dead baby. While I agree that such an event may cause psychological distress, I still find that it is ultimately her choice. Others may question if Jane is currently high given her past drug use. That would be easy to determine as the medical staff could do blood work to determine if drugs are in Jane’s system. Nevertheless, she has the right to make autonomous choices. In fact, she could be making her decision based on the fact that is/was a drug user and may expect the baby to have issues. She (in her own way) may even be trying to protect the baby. Jane’s decision may also be based on cultural or religious reasons although this may seem unlikely being that she has had a C-section in the past. While there are many reasons why Jane may be refusing the treatment, the medical staff cannot make a determination on whether her actions are right or wrong without understanding her position. Therefore, the C-section, while an option, is not the right course of action if Jane chooses to refuse