...of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) techniques. However, for many this raises a whole batch of ethical dilemmas. IVF brings up dilemmas such as the process itself, when does “life” begin, how many eggs to fertilize, and cryopreservation of embryos. It is an especially difficult decision for those of Christian beliefs as IVF is not widely received within the Christian community and not clearly addressed in the Bible. I first want to take a look at the process itself and what leads a couple, or individual, to this decision. Before we start, we need to define what infertility is. According to The Fertility Center (2009), infertility is the “inability for a couple to conceive after one year of normal intercourse with no contraception”. Facing infertility is not as uncommon as one might believe, according to the Center for Disease Control, “approximately 1.2 million women made infertility related appointments in 2002”. In simpler terms, one in six couples faces infertility related issues at some point during their childbearing years. In addition, infertility is not a problem that only women deal with. Approximately one-third of all cases are due to male related issues, another third to female issues, and the other third are a result of a combination of male and female related problems while of those twenty percent of the cases are unknown as to what the problem is, according to research done by the American...
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...Abortion Ethical issues continue to weigh heavily in the way healthcare is delivered in the United States. Diversity makes the most sensitive issues settle in a grey area, rather than simply black or white. Many believe that abortion is ethically justified, when others believe it is morally wrong. The ethical differences in opinions will be explored in the following paragraphs, analyzing the issue from different perspectives. Yet the act of abortion appears to break the vows of non-maleficence that health professionals must remain committed to uphold. According to John Stuart Mill, utilitarianism is a moral theory of ethics in which “an act’s of rightness or wrongness resides either in the nature of the act itself or in the results that the act brings about” (Mill, 2001). In today’s modern society, the utilitarian theory alone accounts for society’s understanding of virtue. The definition of utilitarianism according to Baillie, H.W., McGeehan, J., Garrett, T.M., and Garrett, R.M.(2013 p.4), in Health Ethics states: “Utilitarianism is social consequentialism, that holds that one should act so as to do the greatest good for the greatest number.” Based on the insight of these authors, refraining from abortion contributes to the greater good of not only the childbearing woman, but also to the greater good of society. Many base their argument of abortion on physiological, physical, even socio-economic reasons, but the act unknowingly causes more damage to the woman than one...
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...English Argumentative Essay Should embryonic stem cell research carry on? Embryonic stem cell research creates an ethical dilemma. It forces us to choose between two moral principles: the duty to prevent or lessen the suffering; or the duty to respect the value of human life. In embryonic stem cell research, it is impossible to respect both moral principles. To get embryonic stem cells, the early embryo has to be destroyed. This means destroying a potential human life. But embryonic stem cell research could lead to the discovery of new medical treatments that would lessen the suffering of many people. So which moral principle should have the upper hand in this situation? The answer hinges on how we view the embryo. Does it have the status of a person? Some say it does, as many people think of an embryo as a fully-grown human. The reason for this is the fact that, once an egg is fertilized, unless stopped, it will grow into a fully-grown adult. This opinion is often related to religious rules which state that conception marks the beginning of human life or the presence of a soul. It has been argued that "the line at which an embryo becomes a human life remains as chance as ever". Others argue that embryos are not humans, believing that the life of Homo sapiens only begins when the heartbeat develops, which is during the 5th week of pregnancy, or when the brain begins working, which is about 54 days after conception. Embryos are of value, however they are not equivalent...
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...ETHICAL ISSUES RELATED TO REPRODUCTION Oghenebrume Pela Grand Canyon University: HLT 305 11/22/2014 Assisted reproductive technology otherwise known as fertility treatment uses various methods to achieve pregnancy. According to the CDC, the use of these methods has doubled in the last ten years. There has also been an increase in the number of successes based on the most recently collected data as at 2012. The current percentage of people born through ART (assisted reproductive technology) living in the United States is at 1% which, quite frankly, is a lot of people (Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART), 2014). In the case of surrogate parenting, an agreement is reached typically between an infertile couple and a woman who is to carry a baby for this couple. There are two main types which are gestational surrogacy and traditional surrogacy. In gestational surrogacy, conception takes place by means of IVF (in vitro fertilization) which would mean that the surrogate mother will have no genetic relationship with the resultant child. In traditional surrogacy, conception will take place either naturally or artificially which would mean that there will be a genetic relationship between the surrogate mother and the pregnancy. Sperm and egg donation as the name implies is a practice in which sperm and eggs or embryos have been donated by a third party to enable the infertile individual or couple to conceive. The donors are usually screened before they can donate and are...
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...Stem Cells Abstract According to human guidelines, human stem cell research is questionable. The main ethical dilemma revolves around whether or not an embryo is a human being of a cluster of cells. Stem cell research has the ability to provide treatment for many of today’s incurable diseases and disorders, and it is apparent this type of research produces many ethical issues in which one can consider both positive and negative for such research. Experimentation Critique Introduction Stem cell research is a modern method of discovering new medical break throughs. Research is involoved, using human embryos, causing heated moral debates. Human –nature and goal-based ethics theories apply to this controversial debate. The debate lies in the determionation of the embryos with moral status is owed. There has been extensive research in the underlying law and religious ethics surrounding the use of embryos for medical reasons. Discussed, is the debate, controversy, and opinion of government officials, in relation to the ethics involving stem cell research. Issues/Conflict Stem cell research proposes many ethical issues. The basis of this issue is that embryonic stem cells research holds such vast promise for so many people but obtaining the cell means destroying embryos. The ethical conflict brought on by stem cells means destroying embryos. The ethical conflict brought on by stem cell research is whether or not it is acceptable by social standards to experiment with...
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...I chose procreation as a topic for this paper for a few reasons. First, because of complicity of the issue. Scope of this problem almost unlimited and correlates not only with modern legal and ethical general acceptable principals, but also with core issues of human existence. Second, I do believe, that understanding of origin of procreation and ability to build personal approach in this issue plays significant role for every professional in the Health Care System. Even if in real life situation some of us will never directly participate in solving such problem, still establishing firm personal position on this issue will benefited everyone who involved in running of human services. Third, I think that in the scope of course “Legal and Ethical issues in Health Care”, procreation could be a best example to justify my personal opinion on the social role of ethics and its priority over the social role of legal system. In comparing law and ethics, many people thinking about law as a sphere of clearly identified and easy to recognize points, while sphere of ethical issues for many, more-less limited to the individual stand points in terms of what is good and what is bad. However, it is an ethics established law, not law established ethics. Especially in the procreation dilemma, it turns out ethics plays a big part in all aspects of breeding, in the sense that ethics makes our choices relevant to other people. The decision to have or not to have children has a profound impact on all...
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...wrong also known as ethics. Something that can be a problem is that, different people have different moral and ethical guidelines depending on the situation, making certain hot topic issues such as abortion, stem cell research, and the right to die highly debatable issues. Something these issues all have in common is that they all have made nationwide headlines in the past few years with parties on both sides making their points. When working in healthcare, even when one of these issues are something that people feel deeply about, providers can’t let them be the main factor in making choices for the practice or organization. Following an ethical decision...
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...on the nature of human individuality. There is also the ethical question of whether human reproductive cloning in order to replicate ones genetic identity should be allowed at all. If reproductive cloning to create an entire human being were possible, and accessibility and cost were not a factor, should humans have the unrestricted right to clone themselves? The right or even need for humans to clone themselves is as complex a moral or ethical issue as it is a complex bimolecular and genetic procedure. There may be no definitive answer to the ethical or moral dilemmas but in my opinion there is not a reason compelling enough to justify human reproductive cloning of an entire human being, even if it were technically possible at this time. There appear to be too many issues and unknowns in both the science and ethics of human reproductive cloning to allow it even if it were possible. The fear as portrayed in science fiction about armies of replicated humans threatening society and all of our identities being at risk are certainly unfounded as the science proves out (Sommers Smith, 5C - 23). Unlike the renowned geneticist James Watson I am not so certain that having the ability to clone a human would make it a benefit to our society, or should make it a requirement to do so (Grace, pp. 214-215). The unknowns about human cloning seem to far outweigh our suppositions about the results which of course may change as research continues and science and technology in genetics advances...
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...De-extinction or not? The ethical dilemmas of cloning extinct species have been a...
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...Ethical Issues Related to Fetal Tissue Research The use of fetal tissue in biomedical research has been a hot topic for debate in social and political forums ever sense the landmark decision in the 1973 case of Roe vs. Wade (Beller & Weir 182). The decision of the Supreme Court to give women the right to abort a fetus without having a medical reason for doing so, sparked controversy which has affected any medical procedure or research dealing with fetuses (Bellar &Weir 182). Supporters of fetal tissue research believe it has too much potential to provide cures for many of the diseases and medical problems that plague today’s society for it to be halted. Opponents of this type of research believe it should be stopped because it is unethical to take the life of one human being in order to preserve the life of another. Until the ruling in Roe vs. Wade experiments involving fetal tissue were conducted without any scrutiny from the public sector (Maynard-Moody 13). The first documented procedure involving the transplant of fetal tissue was carried out by Italian researchers in 1928, doctors transplanted the pancreas of a fetus into a diabetes patient, the patient showed no signs of improvement (Maynard-Moody 11). Research involving fetal tissue didn’t become widespread until the 1960’s. In 1957, a non-habit-forming sleeping pill was released in Europe. The pill was widely used in Europe, but not approved in the United States. A few years after the release of the...
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...receiving public funds. The ethical question as to whether a mother should be made to agree to “selective reduction,” or in common terms abort a fetus or fetuses in the case of multiple eggs that become fertilized needs to be addressed and answered. There are several ethical dilemmas that arise when dealing with donating eggs or sperm, as well as with surrogate pregnancies. Those in the low income bracket are susceptible to being exploited by the idea they can make money by donating their eggs. A woman willing to donate her eggs needs to be informed of the dangers associated with this process, such as; it is time consuming and requires a commitment to follow through with the process. Once the process is started the donor must give themselves daily injections of one of various medications that temporarily shut down their ovaries. These medications come with side effects that the donor may not be informed of. Ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome is another danger in which in some cases can lead to kidney failure and even death. The egg harvesting procedure is invasive surgical procedure in which there is a risk of injury to the bladder, bowel, uterus, or other pelvic structures. Regarding the long term effects of egg donation, rick of infertility, and the risk of cancer, more research needs to be done in these areas to have a definitive answer (Fertility Nation website, n.d.). A clinic that specializes in infertility issues would be less than ethical if they did not warn a...
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...Ethics Steven J. Ramsey University of Minnesota Introduction In this paper, I will be applying ethics – principles of right and wrong – from an administrative perspective to three specific situations. In the first situation I describe the application of two ethical principles in relation to access to healthcare at a hospital. The next situation deals with the moral issues raised by mandating the use of ultrasound technology. Here I explain which ethical principles are used to justify this practice, and which ones are violated by this practice. In the last situation, I describe an ethical dilemma I was personally faced with and the ethical principles I used to resolve it. 1. Access to HealthCare The Principle of Utilitarianism Utilitarianism is the moral theory that says the rightness of an action is determined by its contribution to the greatest good for the greatest number. This theory argues against specific actions that would benefit an individual in favor of actions that serve to benefit society overall. Using this theory as a principle for making healthcare decisions, the objective becomes to maximize the health of the population served, which is in conflict with the widely held objective to maximize the care to every individual patient. For example, when having to choose between offering a program that benefits one thousand patients every year verses a program that benefits only five patients...
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...Exaggeratory Claims of Infant Linguistic Developing Programs Raymond Mattison PSYCH 600 September 22nd, 2014 Debbra Jennings Exaggeratory Claims of Infant Linguistic Developing Programs For as long as human records show, there has been the stereotypical ‘Snake Oil Salesman’. These stereotypical parts of society thrive off of the ignorance of the masses in order to sell an item or theory that may seem as though is works but in reality doesn’t. Examples of these include an early 1900’s method of weight control in which people bought pills containing tape worms and were told to take one pill to start losing weight and then take an anti-parasitic pill that would hopefully kill the tapeworm (Winterman, 2013). The result was hundreds of people with tape worms and serious medical conditions. While some of these items can cause injury to the users, such as the tapeworm diet, most are harmless schemes to earn money for selling a fake product. One such modern product is a program that claims to be able to teach an infant to read at a very young age (within the first or second year of life) called ‘Your Baby Can Read’. This product claimed that using the program, which came in multiple methods including DVDs, VHS, books, etc., could teach an infant to read. Targeted Area of Development The targeted area of development in the child was their language and cognitive development. This involves multiple sub-areas of development. With an older child...
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...Weaver Clayton Professor Mindy Duffner English 1030-11CN 3 March 2016 The Chance to Live Again Therapeutic cloning has the potential to treat several degenerative diseases, thereby defective genes could be replaced and help improve the lives of millions. However, cloning in the human sense has had a difficult start. DNA cloning has permitted the development of modern biology, in particular within the last forty years. In this time frame the world has passed from theories to actually cloning genes. Subsequently, The University of Utah Health Sciences did a study on the history of cloning: Mitalipov and colleagues were the first to use somatic cell nuclear transfer to create a human embryo. …In this experiment, researchers took a skin cell from a patient and fused it with a donated egg cell. Key to the success of the experiment was the modification to the culture liquid in which the procedure was done and to the series of electrical pulses used to stimulate the egg to begin its division. Following the cloning controversy of 2004–2005, in which South Korean scientists falsely claimed to have used somatic cell nuclear transfer to create embryonic stem cell lines, the scientific community demanded much stronger evidence that the procedure had actually been successful. (Learn. Genetics) Subsequently, many states in the US began to prohibit the use of therapeutic and reproductive cloning. Regardless, cloning should be decriminalized, with the stipulation that serious regulations...
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...Leo Dudziak HLS 301G Human Sexuality Library Research Project 6/21/2015 1. Religion and Sex 2. International Human Sexuality Issues Female genital mutilation Female genital mutilation is a ritual removal of some or all of the external female genitalia. The practice of female genital mutilation is concentrated in 27 African countries. Although cases are found in other countries those 27 countries compose a vast majority of worldwide female genital mutilation. It is an appalling tradition that is practiced for religious and cultural reasons. There are four types of female genital mutilation according to The World health organization. Type 1 is partial or total removal of the clitoris. Type two partial removal of clitoris and labia minora. Type three is narrowing of the vaginal orifice and type 4 is any other harmful procedure to female genitals for nonmedical purposes. 85% of women who have had female genital mutilation have had type one or type two performed. The practice significantly affects females the sexuality of those that have had it performed to them. Woman can be severally affected because removal of part of the vagina or clitoris has many negative physical and psychological affects. The physical effects that can happen are severe bleeding, problems urinating, cysts, infections, infertility as well as complications in childbirth and increased newborn deaths. Female genital mutilation can take some or all pleasure away from sex. It also reduces orgasms...
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