Question

Autonomy essentially means "self rule," and it is a patient's most basic right. As such, it is a health care worker's responsibility to respect the autonomy of her patients. However, at times this can be difficult because it can conflict with the paternalistic attitude of many health care professionals. The following two cases address patient autonomy. The first involves the rights of an individual to decide her own fate, even against her physicians' judgments. The second case involves the rights of a parent to care for her child in the manner that she sees fit.

CASE # 4

A woman enters the emergency room with stomach pain. She undergoes a CT scan and is diagnosed with an abdominal aortic aneurysm, a weakening in the wall of the aorta, which causes it to stretch and bulge (this is very similar to what led to John Ritter's death). The physicians inform her that the only way to fix the problem is surgically, and that the chances of survival are about 50/50. They also inform her that time is of the essence, and that should the aneurysm burst, she would be dead in a few short minutes. The woman is an erotic dancer; she worries that the surgery will leave a scar that will negatively affect her work; therefore, she refuses any surgical treatment. Even after much pressuring from the physicians, she adamantly refuses surgery. Feeling that the woman is not in her correct state of mind and knowing that time is of the essence, the surgeons decide to perform the procedure without consent. They anesthetize her and surgically repair the aneurysm. She survives, and sues the hospital for millions of dollars.

Questions for Case # 4
•   Do you believe that the physician's actions can be justified in any way?
•   Is there anything else that they could have done?
•   Is it ever right to take away someone's autonomy? (Would a court order make the physicians' decisions ethical?)
•   What would you do if you were one of the health care workers?
•   Discuss the moral & empirical judgment
•   Are there any moral dilemmas?
•   What are the ethical implications?

Answer 1

1. This is a complicated one , it's the physician's duty to save the life of the patient and in this he had done this only ,but health care professionals can't do anything on the patient without their informed consent which is against the medical ethics and human rights of the patient. No it cannot be justified in any way .

2. Yes, the physician must have taken permission form the court and other higher authority to do the surgery in order to save the life of the patient.

3. No, it's not at all right to take away someone's autonomy . Autonomy is the right to take one's own decisions. Yes ,a court order make the physicians decision ethical .

4. If i was one of the healthcare workers ,then ofcourse i must have taken court order because it will save the life of the patient and also does not cause any harm to ourselves in respect of ethical decision making.