Ethical and Spiritual Decision Making Essay
Mike and Joanne need to make a very important decision when it comes to their son James and his care. They want to make sure their son is taken care of, but want to follow the way of God. Mike decides to post pone James’s treatment and wait and place their faith in God. With them waiting for treatment James’s condition has deteriorated which is causing them to place James on dialysis with no questions being asked. Now Mike struggles with knowing if God is testing his faith or if God is punishing him. He needs to figure this out all while making sure he does the right thing for his son James. Ethical and Spiritual Decision Making Essay.
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Some issues that are present during all of this is the principle of beneficence. The doctor has the right to give the parents all the options and describe the risks and benefits. If he does not do this he will be going against his duty as a doctor to make this known. As he is making them aware of what needs to be done he also needs to understand the parents of James have autonomy and have they have a say in the treatment.
As stated in Biomedical Ethics in The Christian Narrative, “Autonomy is a principle that requires respect for the decision making capacities of autonomous persons.” This would be in means of James’s parents since he is not old enough to be his own person. With having this right they are putting their faith in God to heal and ultimately make James better. This may be the right option for them, but in the end it can hurt James and put him in more harm. With this being said another issue we have is the principle of nonmaleficence. Ethical and Spiritual Decision Making Essay.
Nonmaleficence is a principle requiring that people not cause harm to others (Grand Canyon University, 2015). As his parents are deliberately hurting him, with refusing treatment they are contributing in harming his current condition. These are all issues that need to be brought up to make sure all the education is being brought forth and also making sure no harm is being done to James in his current condition.
As stated Mike has the right to make the decision for James’s because he is not yet old enough to make his own. This needs to be understood that the physician still has his duty to prevent harm and keep James safe. The physician should still allow Mike to make decisions as it is his right, but the physician still needs to advocate for the patient. The physician needs to educate the parents on what will or will not happen if certain treatments are done or if they aren’t done. With this being so new it may have caught the parents off guard and they aren’t able to take everything in.
The physician and Mike should work as a team to fully know what is best for James. It should be in the best interest of James in any decision they make. The physician also needs to realize that Mike is making decision based on his culture and what he knows. The physician needs to step back and look at his own beliefs before he can truly treat or advocate for James. As a Christian, Mike aims to be faithful to God, foreseeing as a likely result the possible loss of life or deteriorating condition (Meilaender, 2013). As stated by Meilaender, “The fact that we ought not aim at death for oneself or for another does not mean that we must always do everything possible to oppose it. Life is not our god, but a gift of God; death is a great evil, but not the ultimate evil.” Ethical and Spiritual Decision Making Essay.
With this being said treatment refusal is most adequate when it is useless or burdensome (Meilaender, 2013). When we truly look on who should decide what is best and what treatment options should or should not be done. It can be as easy as the physician withdrawing from a case if they are not comfortable in what the patient or the family wants. There is no guarantee that the medical profession itself will support Christian principles in the practice of medicine (Meilaender, 2013).
This case study can be difficult to come to a common answer as it questions a lot of issues with the four principles and how the patient should be medically treated. At this point James needs an organ donation and his brother is his only option. With this it could put Samuel in harm due to being without a kidney. Meilaender states, “Not every gift can properly be given by those who know themselves to be creatures rather than Creator.” In recent years it has been said that kidney transplantation is not done for just reasons, but because they are pressured into it. Although James needs a kidney, Mike should not feel pressured to take one of Samuels kidneys to help James. Kidney transplants can suggest a separation of who we are from the body that we are. We need to believe that in the Creator phase that we are what God wants us to be. Ethical and Spiritual Decision Making Essay.
As stated in Bioethics: A primer for Christians, “A person suffering certain afflictions was “unclean” and unworthy to participate in the religious life of the people. “It was not that his man sinned, or his parents, “Jesus says, “but that he works of God might be made manifest in him.” With this being said it cannot be assumed that sickness and sin can be assumed. Mike should not feel that God is punishing him because of James condition. Our actions may affect our health, and the reason James may be declining is because action was not taken for dialysis sooner.
No matter how we look at it, God is not punishing Mike or James for something that was or was not done. We need to take some responsibility on our own in regards to our health (Meilaender, 2013). As there is no correlation between sickness and sin or whether God is punishing us we still need to act on our health. Faith in God will be there, but we need to be responsible for our health and still trust in God.
In conclusion, this case study is hard to depict on what is right or wrong for the patient who cannot decide for themselves. Mike has a hard decision with both of his sons and what is the Christian thing to do and what God will approve of. The physician needs to look at his own beliefs and values to understand if he can fully help and be there for James and his parents. Ultimately Mike has autonomy over James, but the physician still needs to be his advocate and make sure the parents are fully educated. Ethical and Spiritual Decision Making Essay.
References
Grand Canyon University. (2015). Biomedical Ethics in The Christian Narrative.
Meilaender, G. (2013). Bioethics: A primer for Christians. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans. Ethical and Spiritual Decision Making Essay.