Author Question: A physician refuses to order pain medication for a drug addict who has been severely injured in a ... (Read 84 times)

sarasara · **on:** Jul 8, 2018

A physician refuses to order pain medication for a drug addict who has been severely injured in a car accident.

When reminded by nurses that pain medication has not been ordered, the physician merely replies that the patient's suffering from the pain of his injuries will build character and that the addicted patient needs to get off drugs. Which of the following ethical theories is the physician using (or misusing)?
a. Consequentialism
b. Communitarianism
c. Deontological ethics
d. Virtue ethics

Question 2

A man entered the emergency department bleeding profusely and screaming, I've got to see a doctor right now I've got a right to see a doctor I'm hurt.

You have to take care of me Which of the following premises would ethically justify such a demand for immediate attention?
a. All hospitals receive federal money and all capable employed adults pay taxes, so all adults have a right to what their tax money has purchased.
b. Saving an individual's life improves society and upholds tradition.
c. Our society believes that all persons should be treated equally and that basic needs, such as not dying if death can be avoided, should be met.
d. The man has a property right to his own body, and the government is responsible to ensure that property rights are protected.

batool · **Reply #1 on:** Jul 8, 2018

Answer to Question 1

ANS: D
Virtue ethics emphasizes practical reasoning applied to character development. Although such action by a care provider is paternalistic and unethical on many grounds, the physician may truly be concerned with enabling the injured addict to learn from his experience and possibly develop into a drug-free person.

Answer to Question 2

ANS: C
The ethical theory of egalitarianism suggests that everyone is entitled to equal rights, equal treatment, and an equal share of the goods of societyand that the government's role is to ensure this happens, at least on a basic level. Therefore, the man has a right to emergency care.