Scenario/Case #10 Assisted Death: Rights, Obligations, and Conscientious Objection
Deadline: April 5 @ 11:59 p.m.
Read the Supreme Court of Canada ruling on assisted death in the Week 12 folder.
In Chapter 4, Professional Ethics, of your textbook read the following two articles:
The Nature and Limits of Professional Autonomy and Professional Responsibility
- Patient and Physician Autonomy: Conflicting Rights and Obligations in the Physician-Patient Relationship, Edmund D. Pellegrino
Why Medical Professionals Have No Moral Claim to Conscientious Objection Accommodation in Liberal Democracies, Udo Schuklenk and Ricardo Smalling
1. Define the following terms: liberal democracy, professional autonomy, professional responsibility, conscientious objection.
2. Summarize what the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms states about freedom of conscience and religion. In the Supreme Court of Canada decision about assisted death, which part of the Charter was used to justify assisted death as a right and why?
3. What approach does Pellegrino take in his exploration of the moral conflicts that exist between patients and physicians regarding autonomy? What approach do Schuklenk and Smalling take in their exploration of the moral conflicts that exist between patients and physicians regarding autonomy?
4. The Supreme Court of Canada stated: “
Nothing in this declaration would compel physicians to provide assistance in dying. The Charter rights of patients and physicians will need to be reconciled in any legislative and
regulatory response to this judgment.”
Describe the current situation in Ontario regarding any legislative or regulatory actions that affect physicians regarding assisted death.
5. In health care ethics, we often speak of reflective equilibrium or the method by which we can facilitate decision-making where conflicts among principles and values exist. As one who delivers health care services, what recommendations would you make when rights and obligations regarding assisted death are in conflict?
