Essay on Religion and Medical Ethics

Abortion What is meant by abortion? Abortion is defined in the dictionary as, "The expulsion of a foetus (naturally or by medical induction) from the womb before it is able to survive independently (around 28 weeks)." This simply means the foetus is removed by either a natural or medical procedure before the time of the natural birth would have occurred, before the foetus could support it’s own life. Their are in fact three types of abortion. They are: Voluntary - when the mother decides to have an abortion out of choice, Therapeutic - carried out when the mother’s health is in danger and Spontaneous - when the foetus dies during the pregnancy (the same as a

As a Christian, I am aware that the act of Abortion is clearly immoral because it clearly goes against the 6th Commandment “You shall not Kill”. Many respectable medical journals such as The Lancet, states life start at contraception and abortion of a fetus is the act of killing.

As Mrs. Johnson waits in the doctor’s office, she hopes to finally hear after two years of trying to conceive that she is expecting. A very successful twenty eight year old woman feels enthusiastic about her possibility of being pregnant, after four years of marriage. Dr. Neil enters the room and began to inform her that she has stage three ovarian cancer and he would like to start treatment as soon possible. Mrs. Johnson looks at the doctor and says,”No treatment, I know my faith in God will heal me.” Mrs. Johnson believes that God and her faith will heal her body, because it is a temple that God has made. The beliefs of different religions can lead to unnecessary

The religious healthcare is an organization working in an areas where the population is 225, 000. Though it is a non-profit making organization, the major objective is to ensure that it provides high quality services t the people and community around it. In this regard therefore, my analyses will focus on providing areas that need to be improved to ensure that high quality services are offered to its target people. Whether, the health care organization makes profit or note, providing standardized services is of paramount importance.

Since the case of Roe v. Wade in 1973 abortion has become highly a debatable argument that has divided Americans due to how the nation feels about the 14th Amendment, religion, and health concerns. In my conclusion I honestly will that having an abortion should not be done except for the woman having to deal with the pregnancy from a harsh situation or a violent crime. The reason that I am not for abortion is because I feel that the decision to give life and to take life away is Gods not ours. In the bible John 10:10 says, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly (HolyBible,KJV).” Although I have my own feelings and opinion towards abortion, I still am able to understand some of the reasons that woman decide to have an abortion. I do understand the overwhelming feelings that women face when dealing with an unwanted or unplanned

As a general articulation, there is very little contention that would emerge when one expresses that lying is wrong. However, when proffered theoretical circumstances start to crawl further into different circumstances, people will start to dodge and legitimize why lying would be satisfactory in specific circumstances.

“Medicine was religion. Religion was society. Society was medicine” (Fadiman, 1997). To the Hmong’s, this is a way of life. Everything in their culture is interrelated and represents a holistic view. As Americans, we try to incorporate the holistic approach into our health care system, but heavily rely on medications and science to treat illness.

One of the latest changes in President Barack Obama’s Affordable Healthcare is that all employers’ must cover contraceptives, more specifically birth control. Their has been backlash towards this new requirement stating that forcing employers to cover birth control violates the Religious Freedom Act of 1993 since contraceptives may go against their beliefs. The government is allowed to intercept in the least intrusive way if it protects the government’s interests and the general population. Since the government is not forcing any one to consume birth control, there are no rights being violated against religious freedom. Having contraceptives covered under all birth control policies is just a way to ensure everyone has access to contraceptives and should be looked at in a positive manner and not as a religious freedom violation.

Religion and spirituality can be one of the most difficult, yet important things for a pediatrician to talk about with patients and their families. Many doctors ignore the topic completely to avoid awkward or uncomfortable conversations with the patient. However, religion and spirituality is a major part of many people’s lives and should be inquired about during the treatment of a child. It can affect how a patient and their family makes major medical decisions as well as the comfort level of the child during treatment. Ultimately the goal of a pediatrician is to ensure that a child is cared for properly and comfortably. Being able to execute these two goals well is the key to being a successful medical care provider. It is important to understand

"You shall not eat the blood of any creature, for the life of every creature is its blood" (Lev. 17:14). This is just one of the several scriptures found in the bible from which the Jehovah Witnesses base their beliefs. To summarize the above excerpt, Jehovah Witnesses strongly believe that contributing to the health of their bodies by way of any type of blood material is not intended by God’s will. However in dire cases, ethical questions need to be raised regarding the patient’s mental capacity and legal competence. In particular cases concerning minor patients, where mental capacity is accounted for, parents should not have the dominant opinion about how their child wants to receive surgery based on their own personal beliefs.

Professionals in every field are always confronted with some kind of ethical issues. It has however been noted that these ethical issues become high in magnitude and extent when public officials are involved. Due to the involvement of human life, an industry like healthcare holds ethics in highest regard. Even though these healthcare practitioners are highly trained to deal with issues of these kinds, their decisions can sometimes have a lasting impact on their professional and personal lives (Edwards 2009).

To answer this question, we must first understand what both ethics and morality are. As ethics is defined as the philosophical study of morality, those who study religion get their moral precepts from what they believe God says should be done. This perspective is not at all unexpected, because all religions apply a perspective on morality. Morality is defined as beliefs concerning right and wrong, good and bad- beliefs that can include judgements, values, rules, principles, and theories. Morals are what help us guide our actions, define our values, and give us reason for being the person that we are.

To be moral simply means to do what is right; however, doing what is right is easier said than done. Perhaps if one was a child, one would, to the best of their abilities, follow what his parents demand of him, this would constitute them as doing what is right. Now let us say that the child is an orphan, or does not believe what his parents say is right, should following them still be considered moral, or is it even up to him to decide? Perhaps the child has evolved past parenting all together and therefore needs no more guidance. Defining what is considered moral has now become much more complex. Sam Harris presents the same basic argument of morality in his book Letter to a Christian Nation, by applying it not to a child and his parents,

“Tracing its origins to the same Semitic soil that bore Judaism and Christianity, Islam continues to deeply influence the beliefs, values, and customs of an estimated one fifth of the human race” (Gatrada, A. R., & Sheikhb, A.). The paper will be about medical ethics and Islam; principles and practice. The two primary sources of Law are “The Qur 'an (Koran)—The Sunnah—the example, whether in word or deed, of the Prophet Muhammad incorporated in Islamic scriptures” (Gatrada, A. R., & Sheikhb, A.). The third source is “Ijtihad—the law of deductive logic. An example of that is to bring considerable health benefit to communities worldwide, is the move towards outlawing cigarette smoking on the grounds that its adverse consequences to health are now well established” (Gatrada, A. R., & Sheikhb, A.).

     Spirituality and psychology are two complex subjects to discuss and they become even more complicated when you try to relate one to the other. Psychology deals with the processes of sense perception, thinking, learning, cognition, emotions and motivations, and personality, focusing on the behavior of individuals. Spirituality, on the other hand, is all inclusive. “Spirituality is living one's life from the realization that the body/mind/ego personality we have been taught to identify with is just the tip of our iceberg, our little head sticking through the window of the senses into this world, whereas our true body is the universe. It is recognizing that our perceived world is mostly an illusion, a shared