Should this man with alcoholism be considered for liver transplantation?
Tag Archives: autonomy
Ten Critical Ethical, Conceptual, and Clinical Cautions Concerning the Diagnosis and Treatment of Gender Dysphoria and Transgender Identification
There is an urgent need for ethical, conceptual, and clinical clarity regarding the diagnosis and treatment of gender dysphoria and transgender identification. In this essay, I highlight ten critical concerns in this arena
When I Am Vulnerable, Imitatio Dei?
An analysis of patient autonomy through the lens of the theology of vulnerability and the Trinitarian approach to holistic healthcare decisions.
Revisiting Physician-Assisted Suicide: Reaffirming the Christian Hippocratic Legacy
Support for physician-assisted suicide is growing as a result of ever-expanding cultural pressure. Healthcare professionals should oppose this trend and recognize that physician-assisted suicide is a misguided answer to human suffering. For 25 centuries, the Hippocratic Oath has served as the ultimate credo of the medical professional, and serves as a more trustworthy guide for professional ethics than contemporary culture. In this essay, I reflect on the Hippocratic Oath from a Christian perspective and reaffirm that physician-assisted suicide, despite growing in cultural acceptance, remains a misled answer to human suffering and as such is dangerous for the profession of medicine. Physician-assisted suicide corrupts the medical profession, relies on a distorted view of autonomy, and subverts true compassion. The way forward for the medical professional, in contrast, is an ethic of a “good death” comprised of healing, palliative care, and true compassion.