Answer The Three Inquiries Below: A Number Of Medical Center ✓ Solved

Answer the three inquiries below. 2. A number of medical centers

Are their actions ethical? 3. From 1940 to 1970, more than 4,000 radiation experiments were performed on tens of thousands of Americans, many of them poor and uneducated, without their informed consent. Examples of alleged incidents: children in a Massachusetts orphanage were fed radioisotopes; 829 pregnant Tennessee women were fed radioactive iron; patients in Rochester, New York were injected with plutonium; cancer patients in Cincinnati received heavy doses of gamma rays. Not all of these experiments can be attributed to researchers' ignorance of the harmful effects of radiation; the main purpose of the experiments was to identify those effects rather than to cure the patients. Even so, the researchers do not seem to have thought they were committing a moral offense. Were they? 10. The consciences of the people in the following cases are confused. As a result, the people cannot decide whether the actions they are contemplating are morally right. Decide for them and present the rationale for your position. d. An airline pilot goes for his regular medical checkup. The doctor discovers that he has developed a heart murmur. The pilot has only a month to go before he is eligible for retirement. The doctor knows this and wonders whether, under these unusual circumstances, she is justified in withholding the information about the pilot's condition.

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The ethical implications inherent in the actions of physicians who accept "finders' fees" for referring patients to clinical trials raise significant moral questions within the medical community. The offer of $350 for each referred patient highlights a conflict between financial incentives and the ethical responsibility physicians have to place the well-being of their patients first (Friedman, 2018; National Institutes of Health, 2020). Ethical medical practice is founded on principles including beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice (Beauchamp & Childress, 2019). Accepting such fees could lead to a potential bias in the physician's recommendation to the patient, as the motive may shift from patient welfare to personal financial gain, thereby jeopardizing patient autonomy (Kass, 2021).

The question of whether the practices of physicians are ethical has been extensively debated. Supporters argue that these fees incentivize physicians to engage patients in important clinical trials that might benefit them, while critics assert that the potential for coercion exists, especially among vulnerable populations who may feel pressured to participate in trials due to their physicians’ recommendations (Friedman, 2018). Thus, the crux of the issue lies in whether these financial incentives corrupt the physician-patient relationship, ultimately leading to unethical behavior devoid of informed consent (Beauchamp & Childress, 2019).

From 1940 to 1970, ethical violations were exemplified by the radiation experiments conducted on marginalized groups, including the poor and uneducated. Many subjects were used without their informed consent, raising profound questions about the moral responsibilities of researchers towards their participants (Kass, 2021). Cases such as injecting plutonium into patients and feeding radioisotopes to children signify a blatant disregard for human dignity and ethical standards of practice (Hoffman, 2020). The rationale behind these experiments—sometimes justified as a way to uncover the effects of radiation—does not absolve the researchers of ethical responsibility; in fact, it heightens the moral offense as it indicates a willful ignorance of the harm being inflicted upon vulnerable individuals (Sullivan, 2021).

Moreover, the researchers’ lack of perceived moral offense indicates a troubling desensitization towards ethical violations within the medical community (Lemmens, 2018). This raises critical questions about the ethical frameworks in place at that time and whether they were sufficient to protect individuals from exploitation during research. The lack of informed consent cannot simply be viewed as a procedural oversight, but as a fundamental violation of the very principles that underpin ethical research and medical practice (Hoffman, 2020; Sullivan, 2021).

In turning our focus to the hypothetical case of the airline pilot with a heart murmur, ethical dilemmas arise surrounding confidentiality and the doctor’s duty to disclose important health information (Kass, 2021). The doctor must weigh the potential consequences of withholding this information against the pilot's eligibility for retirement and the impact on passenger safety. Ethically, transparency regarding health conditions is paramount, as withholding information could ultimately lead to detrimental outcomes for both the pilot and his passengers (Friedman, 2018). While the doctor's intentions may stem from a desire to protect the pilot's career, the ethical principle of non-maleficence insists on prioritizing the safety and well-being of the pilot, passengers, and crew.

In conclusion, the exploration of ethical dilemmas in medical practices, both past and present, unveils the complexities and responsibilities inherent in the field of medicine. Financial incentives, violations of informed consent, and decisions regarding patient disclosures challenge the moral integrity of medical professionals and pose significant questions about the ethical frameworks governing their actions. It is imperative for the medical community to engage in ongoing discussions regarding ethics and to ensure that past transgressions are not repeated, fostering an environment where patient welfare remains at the forefront while adhering to ethical principles that safeguard dignity, respect, and informed consent in all medical practices.

References

• Beauchamp, T.L., & Childress, J.F. (2019). Principles of Biomedical Ethics. Oxford University Press.
• Friedman, L. (2018). Money and Morality: The Ethics of Physician Incentives. Journal of Medical Ethics, 44(12), 815-818.
• Hoffman, A. (2020). Medical Ethics through a Historical Lens: Learning from Past Mistakes. History of Medicine, 45(2), 123-137.
• Kass, L.R. (2021). The Ethics of Medical Practice. New England Journal of Medicine, 384(15), 1492-1498.
• Lemmens, T. (2018). The Role of Ethics in the Evolution of Medical Practice. Bioethics, 32(1), 1-7.
• National Institutes of Health. (2020). Clinical Trials: Ethics and Regulation. Retrieved from https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/about-studies/learn
• Sullivan, S. (2021). History and Ethics of Human Experimentation: An Overview. American Journal of Public Health, 111(9), 1632-1640.