You are a family doctor, and a 14-year-old girl, accompanied by her mother, comes to you with complaints of nausea and vomiting for the past two weeks. After her mother leaves the room, she admits to being sexually active and tells you that she has had unprotected intercourse recently with her boyfriend and missed a period. Her parents do not know she is sexually active, and she does not want her mother to know that a pregnancy test is being done or the result of that test. The pregnancy test comes back positive.
q1:
According to Aristotle’s virtue ethics, which of these matters most in deciding whether you, the doctor, act appropriately?
Group of answer choices
if you avoid causing any pain and suffering
if you have appropriate feelings and desires that motivate you to act
if you inform the patient’s parents so they can make decisions for her
if you help her decide whether to have an abortion
q2:
Which of these statements provides the best (classic/act) Utilitarian reason to keep the patient’s information confidential and not reveal it to her mother?
Group of answer choices
Telling her mother could reduce her (the patient’s) trust in medical personnel, leading her to avoid medical treatment later.
The patient is old enough to give informed consent for medical treatment in some states.
It is not likely to have any downsides or lead to any conflicts.
It is the best way to allow her to make her own decisions.
q3:
Which of these is the best assessment of why a principle supports breaking confidentiality and telling the patient’s mother?
Group of answer choices
Justice supports it because it is unfair to provide confidentiality to adults but not to 14-year-olds.
Nonmaleficence supports it because you must stop her from harming herself.
Utility might support it, depending on the circumstances, because it could help the patient resolve the situation positively.
Respect for autonomy supports it because the patient has no autonomy while she is pregnant.
q4:
Assuming there is no emergency or evidence that the patient was abused or raped, what does the ethical duty of confidentiality (as opposed to one’s legal duties) require in this case, and why?
Group of answer choices
That you tell the mother, because she will find out eventually anyway.
That you keep the patient’s information confidential, if the patient is sufficiently autonomous.
That you ask for the patient’s permission to begin any medical treatment.
That you do whatever is most beneficial to the patient regarding her information.
Answer 1= To inform the patient’s parents so they can make decisions for her
Answer 2= The patient is old enough to give informed consent for medical treatment in some states
Answer 3=Justice supports it because it is unfair to provide confidentiality to adults but not to 14-year-olds.
Answer 4= That you keep the patient’s information confidential, if the patient is sufficiently autonomous.
You are a family doctor, and a 14-year-old girl, accompanied by her mother, comes to you...
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A mother brings her 9-year-old daughter into the pediatrician’s office for a follow-up appointment. The daughter had been diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) last year while repeating second grade. She has been taking methylphenidate (Ritalin) 10 mg twice a day for 7 months now. Initially, she had been started on methylphenidate (Ritalin) 10 mg three times a day, but complaints of headache and insomnia resulted in a series of changes. Initially, the last dose of the day was dropped...
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