The Ethical Dilemmas surrounding ‘Savior Siblings’ In 2002, Jayson and Michelle Whitaker, the parents of Charlie Whitaker, their then four year old son, faced a decision that would test the bounds of both modern medicine and the ethical limitations which govern it. When he was twelve weeks old, Charlie had been diagnosed with Diamond-Blackfan Anemia (DBA), a rare blood disease which prevents the body from creating sufficient red blood cells; requiring frequent treatments which prove painful and exhaustive for both the recipient and in this case the helpless, on-looking parents. To stay alive, Charlie received recurring blood transfusions and almost nightly drug infusions. Distraught with their son’s ailment, traumatizing treatment and the…
In this case, Katie’s right to autonomy conflicts with the moral principles of Dr. Katz. Similarly, autonomous decisions can be affected by the mental capacity, mental status, and maturity of the decision maker. Dr. Katz approached the hospital ethics committee and asked them to get involved to help be a resource for the patient, family, and staff. In summation, the ethics committee promoted the baby’s rights and was there to assist Katie in making an ethical informed…
In the photo shown, a neonatal nurse is feeding an infant in the NICU. He was in the third level of the NICU. Although he wasn’t premature, he did have some severe complications. His mother had gestational diabetes, once the cord was cut, the infant’s blood dropped quickly therefore his body couldn’t regulate his blood sugar on his own. The nurses noticed he wasn’t eating so they began to feed him through a tube until he could eat on his own.…
My current goal is to become a Neonatal Nurse. A neonatal nurse is a nurse that cares for newborns. I want to help save lives. I also what to do something that i have a passion for and good at. When I was younger I always wanted to save something for a baby bird to one day helping new born babies that are sick.…
This is all part of the act but not the action of resuscitation. In this case study, a newborn’s abnormalities are considered severe and life threatening.…
Doctors of today have advanced tools and technology to look at an embryo and tell if it is healthy and ready for life. Many mothers experience complication in pregnancy that can lead to a child being born with disabilities. As stated in JUSTIFYING INFANTICIDE AND NON-VOLUNTARY EUTHANASIA By Peter Singer, infants can be born with “irreversible intellectual disabilities, will never be rational, self-conscious beings.” With the knowledge of the child’s health before birth it gives a morally difficult question to answer. Should the child be born?…
The reading talks about where the line should be drawn between doing what is good for society and an invasion of privacy. Amitai Etzioni claims that what makes a good society is concerns for public health and safety even if it means the diminution of privacy. He gives an example that infants should be tested for HIV early on so it can be treated. However, the test will show that the mother is a carrier, there for violating the privacy of the mother. The problem occurs when it becomes a requirement that infants should be tested.…
One’s worldview are values or set of believes that guides and influences how a person thinks, learns and does things. One’s view impacts decisions made on behalf of imperiled newborns which raises some ethical issues. According to Butts & Rich, decisions made of withholding and withdrawing of intensive invasive treatment should follow standards of best interest. These decisions are among the most difficult of any which made on behalf of the newborns and it is hard to decide whose responsibility it is. In my opinion, in the light of evidence based practices, some treatments are unnecessarily and have no benefit for the…
Neonatal nursing is a nurse that works with the newborn infants who are born with numerous of problems such as prematurity, birth defects, infection, etc. Neonatal nursing are surrounded with infants who have problems right after their birth, but they also care for the infants who experience long-term health issues regarding to their prematurity or other illness right after birth. Some of these nurses take care of the infants who are up to 2 years of age, or some care for the ones from the time of their birth until their released from the hospital. There are many career options open to neonatal nurses. Some start out as staff nurses those are the ones who care for the critically ill newborns.…
Nursing is an extremely important job in our society today nearly 100,000 babies end up in the NICU each year from being born early. Those numbers are pretty high for a year in the US that brings on the topic of the type of nurse in the NICU they are called neonatal nurses, they watch and take care of the newborns that are born before the full term of the mothers pregnancy. The nurses in the NICU have an incredibly important job and have to be a extremely patient person because their stress being shown can cause the parents or family to stress and cause a big mess. The people in this field specialize in neonatology. With these in mind a neonatal nurse requires an associates or an bachelors degree in Neonatology, patience with families and special training.…
In the hospital, many people are diagnosed as, being brain dead. Some people are put on life support, even though they are legally dead, court cases are fought, won and lost. All so we can put a legally dead person on life support. Is it really worth, the time and money to keep a dead patient alive. Put yourself in the doctor’s position, they have a patient whose heart is working but their brain is completely dead and non-functioning.…
The Decision Maker Would you be able to “pull the plug” on a loved one? No one should be alone when making such a massive decision like this as well as when experiencing a death. When we think of children, we do not usually think about death. The article “When Living Is a Fate Worse than Death” by Christine Mitchell argues that doctor’s should have the control over deciding life or death for a patient. The author’s argument is ineffective because the text lacks in facts, is one-sided, and gives a negative tone.…
Because of this, they wish for the hospital to continue giving medications and keep him on life support until his heart and lungs are no longer responsive. The hospital wishes to end care for the terminally ill boy saying that he is beyond a vegetative state, his body does not respond to stimulation and his brain tissue has begun to decompose. When analysing this case there are many factors to think about including Medical Indications, Patient Preferences, Quality of Life, and contextual features. As in any debate, there are also…
Prenatal Care during Pregnancy to Reduce Birth Risks Unintentional or unplanned pregnancies are a major health concern linked to increased risks of harmful behaviors, abortions, negative social and birth outcomes (Feldman, 2012). According to Moeller, Veseau, and Carr while the rates of pregnancy and childbirth among adolescents under the age of 20 in the United States have fallen since 1990 it is not expected to disappear entirely and remains a national problem (2007). Pregnancy in adolescence has been connected to a variety of unfavorable maternal and infant outcomes. Health risks for teens and their infants include low birth weight, risk of prematurity, developmental delays, and poor prenatal weight gain.…
Many believe that it is unethical to take a life in order to save a life, however others believe that it is morally correct to save another life, knowing that your own can’t be saved. In the case of Baby Theresa in 1992, a newborn infant who suffered with anencephaly, parents, Laura Campo and Justin Pearson, decided that they wanted to donate their child 's organs upon hearing that their newborn wouldn’t survive for too long. Anencephaly is a serious birth defect in the formation of a baby’s neural tube development. There is an absence of a major part of the brain, skull, and scalp that, normally, occurs during the embryonic development. A baby born with anencephaly may be stillborn or survive only a few hours to a few days.…