Organ transplantation in children: ethical issues.
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Beneficence↗
Biomedical subjects
J C Moskop
Publications and source records attributed to J C Moskop.
The moral limits to federal funding for kidney disease.
In the current era of cost-containment, Congress may reconsider its support for the End-Stage Renal Disease Program. Substantial reductions in funding for this program could be made by eliminating non-beneficial, marginally beneficial, and relatively inefficient modes of treatment. These measures, however, will only postpone the inevitable day when clearly beneficial treatment must be withheld.
Capitalism↗
The Baby Doe rule: still a threat.
Current federal policy, as reflected in the final Baby Doe rule, will have a chilling effect on the ability of doctors to care appropriately for severely disabled infants. The policy threatens to prolong life unjustifiably for such infants. It will force physicians to violate a duty to do no harm without compensating benefit. And it raises serious problems for the just distribution of health care.
Congenital Abnormalities↗
Problems and prospects for the "living will" in North Carolina.
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Humans↗
Rawlsian justice and a human right to health care.
This paper considers whether Rawls' theory of justice as fairness may be used to justify a human right to health care. Though Rawls himself does not discuss health care, other writers have applied Rawls' theory to the provision of health care. Ronald Green argues that contractors in the original position would establish a basic right to health care. Green's proposal, however, requires considerable relaxation of the constraints Rawls places on the original position and thus jeopardizes Rawls' arguments for the two principles of justice. Norman Daniels claims that health care is best understood as a means for helping to achieve Rawls' goal of equality of fair opportunity. Daniels acknowledges, however, that his interpretation cannot justify a basic right to health care; rather, it would at best require that certain kinds of care be made available to certain kinds of individuals. Finally, in place of the notion of health care as a human right, it is suggested that the provision of health care is a social ideal which may inspire the creation of specific legal rights. On this view, social provision of health care may properly vary significantly from culture to culture. Despite this variability, social systems may still be criticized on moral grounds.
Ethical Analysis↗
Resource utilization in the emergency department: the duty of stewardship.
As the pool of available health care resources continues to evaporate, emergency physicians will be increasingly required to guard against the provision of expensive, unnecessary, and marginally beneficial care. This article proposes that emergency physicians embrace the ethic of prudent resource stewardship to ensure the continued availability of emergency services to all who need them. When making resource allocation decisions, emergency physicians must consider the likelihood, magnitude, and duration of benefits to patients, the urgency of the condition, and the cost and burdens of treatment to patients, payers, and society. These considerations go beyond professional duties to individual patients and suggest that ignoring the burdens of emergency department microallocation decisions is socially and morally irresponsible.
Emergency Service, Hospital↗