Journal article
UNDERSTANDING CONSCIENCE AS INTEGRITY why some physicians will not refer patients for ethically controversial practices
Perspectives in biology and medicine, Vol.62(3), pp.383-400
06/01/2019
DOI: 10.1353/pbm.2019.0022
PMID: 31495787
Abstract
The moral pluralism of Western democratic societies results in ethical differences among citizens and health professionals, due to contrasts between the foundational beliefs and values on which their ethical convictions rest. Some of these differences have challenging implications for the practice of medicine when a patient seeks access to a legal medical service that a conscientiously acting physician believes is unethical. Such disagreements raise pivotal questions about competing ethical values, the moral dynamic of shared decision-making, the meaning of conscience, and the extent to which society will accept ethical differences in professional practice. The act of referral is the focal point of this essay, because it appears to be at the front line of some current debates and legal contests about the extent to which society is willing to accommodate conscientious practice by physicians. Some see referrals as a way to balance respect for physician integrity with promotion of patient autonomy; others see referrals as a mistaken attempt at compromise that misunderstands the meaning of moral responsibility and participation. Understanding conscience as integrity helps explain the moral seriousness of conscientious practice and reinforces the need for professional and legal accommodations that respect it.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- UNDERSTANDING CONSCIENCE AS INTEGRITY why some physicians will not refer patients for ethically controversial practices
- Creators
- Lauris Christopher Kaldjian - Univ Iowa, Dept Internal Med, Carver Coll Med, Iowa City, IA 52242 USA
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Perspectives in biology and medicine, Vol.62(3), pp.383-400
- Publisher
- Johns Hopkins Univ Press
- DOI
- 10.1353/pbm.2019.0022
- PMID
- 31495787
- ISSN
- 0031-5982
- eISSN
- 1529-8795
- Number of pages
- 18
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 06/01/2019
- Academic Unit
- General Internal Medicine; Internal Medicine
- Record Identifier
- 9984359688002771
Metrics
11 Record Views