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Chemotherapy Ethical Issues

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Academic Scholarship Christine Platt DeVry A 17-year-old teen declined to take chemotherapy to treat her Hodgkin’s lymphoma. This is a serious ethical dilemma that comes from two ethical principles. She should be able to have the right to choose what she wants to do. But a doctor/ hospital must also do what is best for their patients. The problem is that she is a 17 year old and is still a minor so she is cared for by her parents. Because she is 17 and is still a minor her parents have the legal right to make the decision for her. Her mother feels that she should be able to choose what she wants to do regarding her health and she supports her decision. “Courts have the authority to overrule parents when their medical decisions …show more content…

8, 2015, the Connecticut Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision and ruled that Cassandra must continue to undergo chemotherapy against her will. Separate lawyers for the mother and daughter sought to have the teen considered a “mature minor,” which would grant her the right to refuse lifesaving treatment, but the court declined to rule on that aspect, siding with the medical judgment that there is an 85 percent chance of surviving Hodgkin’s lymphoma by treating with chemotherapy.” “The legal barrier to respecting Cassandra’s autonomy remains, but the ethics of the case are murky. If this were a one-shot treatment — perhaps painful or uncomfortable but over quickly — it would be easy to conclude that forced medical treatment would do more good than harm. But that is not clearly the case when the patient has to endure for as long as six months the discomforts of chemotherapy.” (Macklin, Ruth. 2015). Chemotherapy is uncomfortable and can very painful for as long as six months. There is no way for the doctors, the teen or the courts to know if the cancer can be cured or in what time. This case has several conflicts due to the many people involved in the dilemma. The first conflict is what the teen wants and what her rights are. Then consider the parent’s feelings and needs for their daughter. Finally, the healthcare individuals have a duty to the teen’s well-being and life

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