Medical Ethical Issues

'Ethics' is something which is now so subjective. I remember having many brain storming sessions with professors, bosses, friends, shop keepers, etc. It is a very integral part of our day-to-day life but somehow ethics remain in the domain of unsaid and unset category. Something which we appreciate but are apprehensive, no, in fact, I can blatantly put it, reluctant to inculcate it within our own personal lives, at least when it comes to dealing with people. Well, I do not want to sound like a preacher or someone who is blaming... Times are changing and hence it is essential to know the legalities along with the ethical issues. After all, the medics are like Gods for us at times of emergencies and in that moment we often do not think of the medical ethics because our loved ones are at stake and nothing is obviously more important than that.

However, in this article I would like to throw light upon the ethical issues in medicinal field. The well-known and debated issues are cited below in the list along with their definitions and related laws concerning them but before that we will see the definition of medical ethics.

Medical Ethics

The legal definition of medical ethics says 'Medical ethics is a discipline/methodology for considering the implications of medical technology/treatment and what ought to be.'

Medical ethical issues arise out of specific fields of health care which are mentioned below.

• Matters related to infertility or any reproductive health related issue. Surrogacy is one good example of this field.
• Experimentation with genes. Cloning could be cited as one of the issues that is debated upon quite a lot.
• Children health care also is one of the big issues that comes with legal medical issues too.
• Dealing with terminal illness, which has triggered the famous (or infamous) euthanasia, also called mercy killing, is one of the gravest issues that has comes under scanner.
• Organ transplants are also one of the major fields of medical ethical issues.
• Treating mentally challenged patients is an addition to the ethical issues in healthcare.
• Animal/Human experimentation with health.

Principle of Autonomy
This principle works on the maxim of Voluntas aegroti suprema lex, which means that the patient is at liberty to make his own decision as to what treatment he wants to undergo and under whom but this does not mean that the doctors are relieved off the responsibility of the health of the patient. The onus totally lies on the doctor to inform the patient about the disease he has and the available treatment options which need not necessarily be available with him. He has to help the patient to make an informed decision.

Principle of Beneficence
This principle is based on Salus aegroti suprema lex maxim. This is usually advocated by the churches in reference to reproduction of human related problems or infertility. For example, IVF (in vitro fertilization) and surrogacy are amongst the ethical issues that the church is highly against. What happens in IVF is the ova and sperm, which when fused initiates the process of fetus formation and eventually the baby, are fused in an unnatural way and outside the woman's body. So this principle says that medical purposes are to be used only to help cure an ailment and nothing else that is artificial or involves experimenting.

Principle of Non-Maleficence
This particular term non-maleficence is common in laws of many countries. It literally means non harmful, in Latin. The maxim primum non nocere says that whatever a doctor does for treating a patient, with the best interests in heart, he cannot harm the patient. In the legal terms, it should be deciphered as 'should not.' Elaborating on this idea further, I would like to inform that a doctor is supposed to 'not do any harm' to his patients more than 'treating' and curing him for his suffering. Just like the law says, hundred culprits may be let to go but not a single innocent is to be hanged. The current medical ethical issues can be categorically listed as follows which can be largely categorized into societal nonacceptance and professional misconduct. They are as mentioned below:

Social Issues

• Abortion and should parental consent be made mandatory.
• Physician's obligation in preventing violence.
• Artificial insemination by known as well as unknown donors.
• Childbirth and terminating life options.
• Divulging personal information of patients while police interrogation.
• Biomedical research
• Human tissue usage
• Genetic engineering
• Gene therapy
• In vitro fertilization
• Organ transplants
• Stem cell storage
• Maternity and surrogation
• Euthanasia

Professional Issues

• Persons practicing without proper license.
• Health practitioners referring to other professionals.
• Sexual harassment in the course of treatment or consultation.
• Experimenting during learning phase of interns and students, on dead bodies.
• Charging fees
• Maintaining confidentiality of patients' records.
• Information access to non-medical staff.
• Neglecting a patient by doctors or nurses amounts to ethical issues in nursing.
• Emergency preparedness

Examples of Medical Ethical Issues

• Cosmetic surgery
• Human cloning
• Birth control
• Bioethical issues
• Gender selection
• Psychology issues
• Animal rights
• Animal experimentation
• Drug testing and legalization
• Stem cell research
• HIV / AIDS infected patients and physicians
• Transgender surgery
• Vaccinations

The only thing we can do is learn is to be very genuine and take care of our own workplace ethics and of course be vigilant and informed about the code of conduct of various professions for safeguarding ourselves.