Posted by
BCORIG on Tuesday, February 03, 2009 11:24:43 PM
The person in Whittier:
She was implanted by an unknown fertility clinic,
apparently, because she didn't want embryos from a In Vitro efforts to "go to waste".
Under existing statutes (there are none, actually)
there is nothing anyone in HealthCare can do to change someone's mind when it
comes to issues of life.
Ethics is variously defined as a set
of moral principles, a theory or system of moral values or the principles of
conduct governing an individual or a group.
In Bioethics there are various
principles that often conflict. The ones that apply here are
Sanctity of Life
Autonomy (self determined choice)
Informed Consent - the patient has the
right to know the benefits and burdens of a treatment
Decision Making Capacity
Sanctity of Life and Autonomy clash
here: Is ending the life of some or most
of the embryos ethical? The MDs at Kaiser Bellflower (I know them personally, they are competent
caring people) likely tried to convince the mother to terminate some of the
pregnancies but you cannot do anything without the permission of the patient
(Autonomy). There was no ethics board because In Vitro Fertilization procedures
are a cash and carry procedure. Kaiser doesn't do them but we (nor anyone)
cannot turn away anyone who shows up for care once it is done - no matter
how many pregnancies. As stated above, there are no statutes to forbid or limit
the number of pregnancies.
Informed Consent - the MDs certainly told her what
she (and her children) was potentially in for.
Decision Making Capacity - was she crazy for doing
this? The only way to keep her from getting implanted with 8 was to
1. Have whoever implanted her before she got to
Kaiser (the IVF provider) refuse (and not get paid - fat chance)
or
2. Declare her insane and incapable of making an
informed decision.
Is bringing them to term where they will certainly
have ongoing (expensive) health issues that will continue to absorb resources
(thereby denying or delaying such resources) ethical? This seems to be the major
issue most ethicists (in the press) are concentrating on.
Now that you've pinned me down, what do I
think?
8 embryos should not have been implanted - this is
excessive and puts everyone's life in danger. Such an act threatens Sanctity of
Life and hence is unethical. However, once the pregnancies were established the
same Principle applies and the others kick in. You have to deliver and care for
them the best you can.
There is still a conflict here because what do you
do with the embryos? If you dispose of them, that violates Sanctity of Life,
assuming one believes that is when life begins.
My head hurts.