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Biomedical subjects

B M Dickens

Publications and source records attributed to B M Dickens.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

Legal issues in predictive genetic testing programs.

This article reviews aspects of predictive genetic testing to which the general law of doctor-patient relations applies and identifies peculiarities of such testing that raise more specialized legal issues. Where testing programs are experimental in character, investigators bear legal responsibilities to inform their subjects adequately and separate duties to submit their proposals to ethical review. Access to routine care and counseling and to specialized testing programs are addressed in the contexts of antidiscrimination laws and patient protection. The law on patients' adequately informed and free decision-making regarding testing is reviewed, with particular attention to reproductive counseling and planning for future inability to make or express decisions about care. Modern perceptions of the legal nature of medical confidentiality are applied to results of predictive genetic testing, and distinctions are illustrated between justified and excusable breaches of confidentiality, particularly with regard to familial disorders. Attention is given to patients' directions that their medical information be made available to third parties and to themselves. Finally, legal issues are considered regarding legal control of tissue samples that patients give for genetic diagnosis.

Aged↗
PubMed1990

Ethical and legal issues in geriatric nephrology.

Ethical and legal issues affecting geriatric nephrology are conditioned more by individuals' status as elderly, sick people than by the distinctive characteristics of kidney disease or failure. Key ethical issues are the obligation to respect persons, in particular by recognizing competent persons' autonomy of medical choice and affording due protection to dependent or vulnerable individuals, by beneficence or doing good, and by acting with justice, treating like cases alike and avoiding unjust discrimination. The law reinforces ethical obligations through such legal concepts as informed consent and the duty to maintain appropriate confidentiality, which have special applications concerning medication and management of the elderly. Additional legal issues concern advanced care directives and terminal care decisions.

Aged↗
PubMed1990

Current bioethics trends in Canada.

Canadian bioethicists have long enjoyed access to bioethics programs in the United States and have collaborated with U.S. organizations working in this field. Nevertheless, special features of Canada's multicultural society and public health services are increasingly seen as raising distinctive issues requiring special attention. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of current Canadian bioethics trends in various areas--including those of training, research on human subjects, human reproduction, termination of life, biotechnology, organ transplants, and AIDS. Comparison of this work with other articles in this issue will show that while some of the trends involved have paralleled similar ones in the United States, some trends (such as that regarding confidentiality and the reporting of HIV infection) have been quite different.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1988

Legal rights and duties in the AIDS epidemic.

This article provides an overview of some major areas of legal concern in which the AIDS epidemic is having an impact. The rights of infected individuals to testing, treatment, and confidentiality are reviewed, and emphasis is given to their claims to nondiscrimination regarding access to health care, employment, housing, education, insurance, and related interests. Infected persons' duties to contain transmission of AIDS are outlined under principles of criminal and civil law, including liability for provision of contaminated blood products. Uninfected people's general rights to protection are considered, and health professionals' and authorities' rights and duties are given more detailed attention. In conclusion, some legal developments outside the United States are reviewed.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1988

International developments in abortion laws: 1977-88.

During the period between 1977 and the first quarter of 1988, 35 countries liberalized their abortion laws and four countries limited grounds for the procedure. Most legislation has extended abortion eligibility through traditional indications such as danger to maternal health or fetal handicap, but a number of other indications have been created such as adolescence, advanced maternal age, family circumstances, and AIDS or HIV infection. A number of countries have redesigned their abortion laws as part of a comprehensive package to facilitate access to and delivery of contraception, voluntary sterilization, and abortion services. Abortion litigation has increased and stimulated the liberalization of abortion provisions and the support of women's autonomous choice within the law. In Canada, the entire criminal prohibition of abortion was held unconstitutional for violating women's integrity and security. In contrast, Latin American and other constitutional developments may limit legal abortion to instances of danger to women's lives.

Abortion, Induced↗