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Principles of medical ethics
Principles of medical ethics
Patients and physicians differing ethics
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In Macklin’s “Ethical Relativism in a Multicultural Society,” she discusses the difference between cultural tolerance and intolerance in the medical field. The main argument that follows is if physicians are obligated to follow contemporary ethics or in the case United States medical ethics or respect cultural difference of their patients and give treatment accordingly, especially when dealing with children. Macklin argues that while cultural tolerance should be practiced it is the “obligation of the pediatricians to educate and to even urge parents to adopt practices likely to contribute to the good health…of their children, and to avoid practices that will definitely or probably cause harm and suffering (Macklin, pp. 125). To state simply, Macklin is trying to discern when culturally diverse treatment can be practiced under the universal code of ethics and which are culturally relative. Based on this case: …show more content…
G brings his 12-year-old daughter, Aliya, to Dr. Jordan’s office with the request that he perform the procedure on her. Although traditionally the procedure is performed without anesthesia or antiseptics, Mr. G says that he wants his daughter to have access to these, because he does not want her to suffer and wants her to be safe. Dr. Jordan does not find these concessions satisfactory, however. He believes that the practice, even with anesthesia, reflects an unacceptable disfigurement, repression, and control of women. Mr. G and his daughter insist that they want the procedure carried out; if not, they will seek the traditional method when they return to their home country for a planned visit.” I argue that female genital mutilation (FGM) should not be covered under the universal code of ethics when dealing with cultural tolerance, parents should not be able to make harmful decisions for their children, and doctors are under no obligation to perform such rituals to conform to the beliefs and traditions of their patients such as in cases of
Female genital mutilation is mostly practiced in Islamic and African cultures, claiming young girls as t...
"Who's to judge who's right or wrong?" In the case against moral relativism Pojman provides an analysis of Relativism. His analysis includes an interpretation of Relativism that states the following ideas: Actions vary from society to society, individuals behavior depends on the society they belong to, and there are no standards of living that apply to all human kind. An example that demonstrates these ideas is people around the world eat beef (cows) and in India, cows are not to be eaten. From Pojman second analysis an example can be how the Japanese take of their shoes all the time before entering the house. In Mexico it is rare that people take off their shoes. They might find it wired or not normal. In his third analysis he gives that sense moral relativism and cultural relativism are tied together, that their can be no
Often, this procedure is done with no anesthetic. Human rights advocates rally that it’s against the basic rights of a human being. For over forty years, weathers have advocated against FGM with no success. Ethnocentrism and cultural relativism come into play when advocating against other cultures, traditions and beliefs. Western societies compare their own culture to the groups in Africa and East Asia.
Advocating for diverse patients is important. In this paper I will be discuss a personal ethical dilemma in which I have encountered. I will give an objective interpretation of both my side as well as my patient’s side of the dilemma. Then I will describe the conflicting values and beliefs that I and the patient had. Then I will give the information I was lacking concerning the patient’s culture. Lastly, I will define culturally congruent care.
Female genital circumcision (FGC) is a cultural ritual that is performed to the vast majority of women within the countries of Sudan, Kenya, Mali, Benin, Togo, and parts of the Middle East. Female genital circumcision also termed as female genital mutilation is used based upon a person’s beliefs. This ritual has been highly controversial for many years especially in the western society, due to the health risks that women may have to go through. Doctor Gruenbaum, and anthropologist who studied FGC in Sudan, has researched this topic and believes that outsiders need to have an open mind about diverse cultures. I believe that this procedure should not be illegal; however, education about the risks of the procedure should be enforced in the countries where this takes place, in order to create a safer environment for the ritual to be performed in. The goal of this essay is to know what Female Genital Circumcision is and different types of FGC and why this is performed and why it is important for outsiders to not have ethnocentric views when dealing with this. This essay also deals with why it should be medicalized instead of enforcing laws to ban this years long tradition in all African countries. When challenging female genital circumcision, we are also challenging the people who perform this procedure, their culture, values and beliefs.
...rtain culture or religion believes. These beliefs may be such that removing pleasure from a female’s body is to prevent temptation, or that circumcising a male’s penis is to follow a religious belief as is the case in Judaism. In both of these practices a human part of the body is removed. The person undergoing the circumcision, unfortunately, usually has no voice on this process; it is totally up to their parents to make a decision for them and in the end it is the child who is really affected because he or she may not be “normal” according to where he or she lives. This issue has been an ethical and political target over the years due to the fact of the consequences of a female genital mutilation could bring at giving birth. Some people will argue that both a male’s and female’s circumcision are moral, while others will argue that both are wrong, even mutilating.
Female Genital Mutilation is believed to have started in Egypt 2,000 years ago and spread from there. Only a few years ago, FGM was considered a cultural tradition, but now the United Nations has labeled it as a violation of human rights. Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, and the United States has declared Female Genital Mutilation grounds for seeking asylum and is a punishable offense (1).
Rouzi, A. (2013), Facts and controversies on female genital mutilation and Islam. The European Journal of Contraception and Reproductive Health Care, 18, 10-14.
... of Rights) Some people think that maybe these women are brainwashed to believe that this is a good thing. Nothing good comes from this procedure, and it is very painful.
Females as a general population have been faced with discrimination across the ages. In recent history, women have begun to assert their freedom and independence from the male oriented traditions that have spanned generations. In industrialized countries the discrimination of women has diminished, but a serious form of violation of human rights occurs sometimes in parts of the world, such as Africa, the Middle East, and even sometimes the United States and other industrialized countries in North America and Europe. Female genital mutilation (FGM) is an umbrella term for three subtypes of crimes committed against women as a part of various coming of age rituals for young girls in certain patriarchal communities in Africa, spreading through migration of a populace through Northeastern and Western Africa and some spread into the Middle Eastern countries. These communities integrated this practice into women through marriage into these cultures, spreading this practice into their daughters and so forth. FGM has been classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) into three basic subtypes, each growing more and more disturbing. Subtype number one is a clitoridectomy which is the complete or partial removal of the clitoris, while subtype two it includes the clitoridectomy plus the removal of the labia minora of the young girl. Alone, these two types of FGM composed approximately 90 percent of female genital mutilation. The third subtype is the most gruesome that is the narrowing the vagina opening by sealing the orifice with the use of the labia majora. These medical procedures have been described the WHO working in conjunction with United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Un...
Several societies place large burdens upon their women whether it is their looks, mothering skills, or other special cases. A special case that is widely known across the world is a practice that done in China several years ago. In China they had a custom where they broke girl’s feet, and tied them down so that their feet would remain unnaturally small. This practice led to the mutilation of thousands of girl’s feet, but if they did not get their feet broken they would not be able to get married. To my knowledge this practice no longer occurs in the twenty-first century, but another practice similar to it does. This practice is called female circumcision and is widely known in the United States as female genital mutilation (FGM). Female circumcision is a practice that is conducted in Ethiopia and Africa; it can have extremely harmful side effects which have led to it being banned in the United States. Anyone found practicing FGM in the United States could face a sentence of five years in prison. FGM is viewed as abuse in the United States even if the female wishes to be circumcised. However, despite the United States obvious views of female circumcision as immoral; some societies view female circumcision as a part of their culture which is why it still occurs today.
...ce (Ahmad). As WHO has stated, “We have to realize that female genital mutilation is a deeply-rooted traditional practice. As such, it can only be abolished completely when attitudes have been changed” (Taylor 31). As this statement suggests, there has to be a line drawn in the sand when discussing the practice of FGM. On one side, there are Western idealists who believe that FGM is barbaric and should be abolished, with their own hands if necessary. On the other side, there are the people who believe FGM is a tradition and a cultural rite, one that should be continued for centuries to come. And somewhere in the middle there are those that believe that change must come, but must come only when the countries involved are ready. Change cannot be put upon them.
It is generally performed with a sharp object like a knife or razor. It is extremely painful and performed without any anesthetics. FGM can cause severe scarring, chronic pelvic infection, urinary problems, kidney failure, and sometimes infertility. If you are able to conceive a child, child birth is very painful and can even result in the death of the mother during labor. FGM may be done in order to ‘cleanse’ a girl, in the belief that it is more hygienic and will stop unpleasant genital secretions and odours as the child develops to maturity, or may also be done for an early marker of belonging to a particular group, perhaps carried out when the child is only a few days or weeks old. ("What Is Female Genital Mutilation? Why Does It Occur? What Are Its Health And Wellbeing Impacts?”) “FGM is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women. It reflects deep-rooted inequality between the sexes, and constitutes an extreme form of discrimination against women. It is nearly always carried out on minors and is a violation of the rights of children. The practice also violates a person 's rights to health, security and physical integrity, the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and the right to life when the procedure results in death.” ("Female Genital Mutilation”) But yet it is
According to the Migration Policy Institute, the most current data shows the United States as having 42.4 million immigrants (Zong & Batalova, 2016). This leads us to reason number two, which involves these diverse multicultural families that want their beliefs and values to be understood by those in the medical field. Reason number three is that sometimes the increased use of technology can cause conflicts with the values of patients. An example of this would be communication between a healthcare worker and a family that does not understand technological instruments, such as a life-saving device or intubation. Reason number four recognizes that conflicts can lead to confrontation and violence as cultures intermingle with one another, which can impact a patient’s care. Number five acknowledges that there has been an increase in people relocating to different parts of the world for work. According to Jelinek (n.d.), a healthcare worker must be aware of the local culture when you are working in a diversified area that may have a different culture and belief than your own. Otherwise, you risk a communication barrier that could affect the patient’s care. Number six involves the ramifications of the negligence
In explaining Cultural Relativism, it is useful to compare and contrast it with Ethical Relativism. Cultural Relativism is a theory about morality focused on the concept that matters of custom and ethics are not universal in nature but rather are culture specific. Each culture evolves its own unique moral code, separate and apart from any other. Ethical Relativism is also a theory of morality with a view of ethics similarly engaged in understanding how morality comes to be culturally defined. However, the formulation is quite different in that from a wide range of human habits, individual opinions drive the culture toward distinguishing normal “good” habits from abnormal “bad” habits. The takeaway is that both theories share the guiding principle that morality is bounded by culture or society.