Essay On Informed Consent

   The Human Genome Project is the largest scientific endeavor undertaken since the Manhattan Project, and, as with the Manhattan Project, the completion of the Human Genome Project has brought to surface many moral and ethical issues concerning the use of the knowledge gained from the project. Although genetic tests for certain diseases have been available for 15 years (Ridley, 1999), the completion of the Human Genome Project will certainly lead to an exponential increase in the number of genetic tests available. Therefore, before genetic testing becomes a routine part of a visit to a doctor's office, the two main questions at the heart of the controversy surrounding genetic testing must be

Informed consent is the basis for all legal and moral aspects of a patient’s autonomy. Implied consent is when you and your physician interact in which the consent is assumed, such as in a physical exam by your doctor. Written consent is a more extensive form in which it mostly applies when there is testing or experiments involved over a period of time. The long process is making sure the patient properly understands the risk and benefits that could possible happen during and after the treatment. As a physician, he must respect the patient’s autonomy. For a patient to be an autonomous agent, he must have legitimate moral values. The patient has all the rights to his medical health and conditions that arise. When considering informed

It is patients’ right to opt for genetic testing on their own DNA, although they are accepting a great risk by doing so.

The Doctor and Patient relationship aspect of Medicine has changed drastically in the last twenty years. It has evolved from paternalism (the doctor makes the decision for the patient) to shared decision making where the patient is considered an equal partner in his/her own health related decisions. Informed consent is the cornerstone for this view. When a patient or a research subject makes an autonomous decision after understanding, the risks and benefits involved with the decision is Informed consent. Complete Informed consent covers the following components: competency, disclosure, comprehension and voluntary. Competency refers to the requirement for the individual to be of legal age and be mentally competent to understand the process.

INFORMED CONSENT : Valid consent is impossible. To date, foetal tissue transplants have been handled as any other organ transplants under the UAGA, thus requiring consent of next of kin. The mother cannot give morally legitimate consent, since she initiated the termination of the pregnancy. Elimination of consent, however, would further turn the unborn child into an object; it would be inconsistent with the fact that, biologically, the developing foetus does not interpret the woman’s tissue. The UAGA and the NIH Panel both fail to discern the conflict between normal organ transplants and the function of foetal tissue. In the instance of foetal tissue, the mother is presumed to be the one who gives consent to the use of the tissue for the transplant (or for some other kind of experimentation). Granting to the normal understanding of proxy consent, her role assumes that she is working in the best interest of the unborn child. However, she is also the one who has initiated the final termination of pregnancy. Just quoting the part of the act dealing with informed consent stated in the NewZealand legislation

Why should you read consent forms? No really, why? Does anybody even read those things to start with? Why can’t you just trust the doctors and just take their words when they say it that all going to be ok Mr. Insert name here. That is the thing that journalist Deborah Franklin is trying to stop people from doing. In her passage “Informed Consent” she takes a stance against the way consent forms are handled, and the fact that that doctors do not take the time to explain the forms and the risks of the procedures to their patients is wrong and should be fixed. She believes that the doctors are responsible for this problem and they should be the ones to fix it, but that is where Franklins are claim is false. It should be a joint effort by

Healthcare Consent legislation applies to everyone above the age of 18 (some places 16) and has the following rights (Ref 1)

In chapter four of her book Genetic Dilemmas, Dena Davis asserts that it is unethical for parents to subject their children to genetic testing for the markers of adult-onset genetic diseases because it places an unfair constraint on a child’s right to an open future. It both removes the child’s ability to choose whether to be tested as an adult and has the potential to negatively alter the overall trajectory of their lives. While the current consensus amongst medical professionals is that such testing should be prohibited (Davis, _____), many concerned parents correctly point out that discouraging such testing creates a conflict of interests between the “beneficence model of patient care and the rights of parents to their own autonomy”

If the genetic information is only accessible to the individual then there is a decreased chance of such discrimination occurring because the information is disclosed to who the individual wishes to. Genetic information can raise questions about personal responsibility, personal choice versus genetic determinism, and concepts of health and disease. Personal factors, family values, and community and cultural beliefs can mould the reactions to these issues. For example the response to the genetic information and suggestion from physicians after the test will be drastically different in a society where traditions and religion determine life choices, such as India, than to a more individually liberal society like the USA. Even in a progressive society that has had specific ethnic groups for multiple generations disparities with medical technology are common. A study conducted, using the national representative data, in the USA with the sample that consisted of 1724 men and women of non-Hispanic whites, Latinos, and African American background. Results exposed significant differences by racial/ethnic groups in knowledge and concerns about the potential misuse of genetic testing. Significantly higher levels of mistrust in a physician and the medical system was a common thread within minorities. The genetic tests can be a way of ridding anxiety attached to the assumed inheritance of genetic disease due to family background whilst for others the genetic test reveals their reality. The results can have a great deal of a psychological impact upon the individual. The possibility of developing a genetic disease alone can create anxiety within some. The psychological impact from the results revealed is another issue that society is concerned about. A

The sequencing of the human genome has a new approach to health care in regards to promotion, maintenance, and treatment. Genetic research is defined as a new approach to a better understanding of the genetic components of common diseases: Cancer, diabetes, stroke, and creating new gene-based technologies for screening, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of both rare and common diseases. Nurses are a main aspect within the first line of care, and therefore will contribute fully in genetic-based and genomic-based practice activities such as collecting family history, obtaining informed consent for genetic testing, and administering gene-based therapies. Lea, D, (January 31, 2008). My paper is based on an article Genomics in the public

Many ethical issues arise from the scientific manipulation controversy. In relation to natural processes, science should be regulated and should also have clear boundaries. The predictive method of genetic testing is available for thousands of diseases, but it has its benefits and drawbacks. Genetic testing can help hopeful parents make decisions about having children and can also identify genetic disorders early in life so the parents are directed toward available prevention, monitoring, treatment options as soon as possible. However, genetic test results are not 100% accurate, they do not indicate the severity of the disease an offspring could possibly have, and they can easily lead to genetic discrimination. Out of these disadvantages, genetic

Genetics research has had a number of huge breakthroughs in the last 10 years. Researchers were able to identify and isolate genes that have been linked to heart disease, breast cancer, cystic fibrosis, and many other ailments. However this knowledge could be less of a blessing and more of a curse. Many doctors are now asking, who has the right to know? In one instance a pair of dwarf parents said that they would abort any fetus which did not carry the mutation for dwarfism, regardless of how healthy it is. Some consider that the gene which causes this mutation can also lead to serious disorders in bone structure. If the doctor discovers that the child does not have the mutation do the parents have the right to abort a perfectly healthy fetus. Ethicists say that the couple should not be informed as to whether their

“Respect for human beings involves giving due scope to peoples capacity to make their own decisions. In the research context, this normally requires that participation be the result of a choice made by the participants” (NHMR, 2007, p.3).  Freegard 2012 (p.60), states that “respecting the rights of others,” includes a responsibility for Health professionals “to let others know about their rights” and that this forms the basis of an informed consent.

genetic testing, everything has changed. She notes that clinicians now have the ability to diagnose, treat, and monitor a patient’s illnesses or disease progression in an entirely different manner. This is a far cry from the old medical model of responding to a disease (or defect) only after it appears, and then prescribing the recommended medication or intervention. These genetic medical advances sound miraculous and promising, but the ability to test, screen and provide early intervention does not come without many major ethical dilemmas.

Information that is gathered from genetical research is very valuable to human society as it can point out and define problems in genetics of a person, which in turn can have an outstanding influence on progress of the process of curing them. Nevertheless, such information could be very dangerous being available to public display. That is why privacy is very important issue to acknowledge when talking about this topic. The results received from research should only be obtainable by the individual, and should only