Practical decision making in health care ethics : cases, concepts, and virtue of prudence

Summary: This is a new edition of a classic textbook in health care ethics, one that offers an alternative to the principle-based approach from Beauchamp and Childress (Principles of Biomedical Ethics, now in its seventh edition from OUP) and traditional Catholic approaches of Ashley and O'Rourke. In the early chapters Devettere spells out the meaning of ethics and the importance of prudential reasoning in seeking the good life. The rest of the book deals with issues and cases, including determinations of life and death, reproduction and research and genetics, and the distribution of health care. In this fourth edition Devettere updates all chapters and adds new cases and new sections on the following: neuroscience, social psychology, overriding advance directives, studies on the fetus, the palliative care movement, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, pharmacists and reproductive issues, prenatal life and abortion, neonatal testing and mandatory vaccinations, the US governments' STD research in Guatemala, the emergence of biobanks, facial transplantations, genetic testing, legal issues around the Affordable Care Act, and more. This is an accessible and comprehensive textbook covering all aspects of the field.

Record details

ISBN: 9781626162761
ISBN: 162616276X
ISBN: 9781626162778
ISBN: 1626162778
Physical Description: print
xxi, 657 pages ; 25 cm
Edition: Fourth edition.
Publisher: Washington, D.C. : Georgetown University Press, 2016.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

Preface the the Fourth Edition -- Introduction -- 1. What Is Ethics? -- Defining Ethics -- Two Kinds of Ethics -- Historical Versions of the Ethics of Obligation -- Moral Reasoning and the Theories of Obligation -- Contrasting the Ethics of Obligation with an Ethics of the Good -- Retrieving the Ethics of the Good -- Bioethics Today -- Suggested Readings -- 2. Prudence and Living a Good Life -- Good We Desire -- Happiness -- Virtue -- Moral Virtues -- Prudence: The Master Virtue -- Suggested Readings -- 3. Language of Health Care Ethics -- Distinctions That Can Mislead -- Helpful Distinctions -- Suggested Readings -- 4. Making Health Care Decisions -- Decision-Making Capacity -- Informed Consent -- Advance Directives -- Patient Self-Determination Act: The Case of Hazel Welch -- Final Reflections -- Suggested Readings -- 5. Deciding for Others -- Becoming a Proxy -- Standards for Making Proxy Decisions -- Deciding for Older Children -- Deciding for the Mentally Ill -- Deciding for Patients of Another Culture -- Final Reflections -- Suggested Readings -- 6. Determining Life and Death -- Classical Conceptual Framework -- New Conceptual Framework -- When Does One of Us Begin? -- When Does One of Us Die? -- Controversies over Determining Death -- Ethical Reflections -- Suggested Readings -- 7. Life-Sustaining Treatments -- Ventilators: The Case of Karen Quinlan, The Case of William Bartling, The Case of Helga Wanglie, The Case of Barbara Howe -- Dialysis: The Case of Earle Spring -- Surgery: The Case of Rosaria Candura -- Other Life-Sustaining Treatments -- Suggested Readings -- 8. Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation -- Terminology -- Brief History of Resuscitation Attempts -- Effectiveness of Attempting CPR -- Learning to Withhold CPR -- Important Ethical Elements for a DNR Policy -- Lingering Questions about DNR Orders -- Resolving Questions about CPR: The Case of Maria M, The Case of Shirley Dinnerstein, The Case of Catherine Gilgunn -- Suggested Readings -- 9. Medical Nutrition and Hydration -- Techniques and Technologies -- Conceptualizing Medical Nutrition and Hydration -- Early Cases about Feeding Tubes: The Case of Clarence Herbert, The Case of Claire Conroy, The Case of Elizabeth Bouvia -- Cases of Persistent Vegetative State: The Case of Nancy Cruzan, The Case of Terri Schiavo -- Recent Breakthroughs in the Diagnosis of Consciousness Disorders -- Unresolved Controversy: The Vatican and Feeding Tubes -- Emerging Controversy: VSED -- Suggested Readings -- 10. Reproductive Issues -- Contraception and Sterilization -- Medically Assisted Pregnancy -- Posthumous Motherhood: A Request for Posthumous Motherhood -- Cloning -- Surrogate Motherhood: The Case of Baby M -- Ethical Reflections -- Suggested Readings -- 11. Prenatal Life -- Abortion: Abortion in History, Abortion and the Supreme Court -- Moral Issues of Abortion -- Abortion and Excommunication at a Catholic Hospital -- RU-486 -- Maternal--Fetal Conflicts: The Case of Angie, The Case of Samantha Burton -- Ethical Reflections -- Suggested Readings -- 12. Infants and Children -- Historical Background -- Sampling of Neonatal Abnormalities -- Special Difficulties in Deciding for Neonates and Small Children -- Baby Doe Regulations: The Case of Baby Doe, The Case of Danielle, The Case of Baby K, The Case of Ashley -- Infant Euthanasia in the Netherlands -- Suggested Readings -- 13. Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide -- Historical Overview -- Recent Developments -- Relevant Distinctions -- Moral Reasoning and Euthanasia -- Legalization of Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide: A Slippery Slope -- Story of a Landmark Suicide: The Case of Diane -- Concluding Reflections -- Suggested Readings -- 14. Medical and Behavioral Research -- Notorious Examples of Questionable Ethics in Research -- Reactions to the Questionable Medical Research -- Research on Embryos -- Research on Fetuses -- Research on Minors -- Controversial Research on Babies: The SUPPORT Study -- Research in Developing Countries -- Other Special Populations in Research -- Animals and Medical Research -- Suggested Readings -- 15. Transplantation -- Transplantation of Organs from Dead Human Donors: The Case of Jamie Fiske, The Case of Jesse Sepulveda -- Transplantation of Organs from Living Human Donors -- Transplantation of Organs from Animals: The Case of Baby Fae -- Implantation of Artificial Hearts -- Suggested Readings -- 16. Medical Genetics and Genomics -- pt. 1 Ethics and the Genomic Revolution -- pt. 2 Ethical Issues in Genetic Testing -- pt. 3 Screening Newborns and Fetuses -- pt. 4 Research to Develop Genetic Therapy: The Case of Jesse Gelsinger -- Suggested Readings.