Religion And Biomedical Ethics Essay

For graduate work, I am interested in examining the dynamics between religion and biomedical ethics, particularly in cases of medical conflict within the public health sphere. To explain, in conflicts of this nature, a patient’s deeply held religious convictions can influence their medical decisions regarding accepting or denying a treatment or medical service. Healthcare providers are often significantly involved in helping their patients make informed medical decisions. Examples of cases that require a considerable amount of health practitioner advising and have the potential to develop into serious conflicts include the ethics surrounding issues such as palliative care for children, abortion services, gene editing and fertility treatments.
Thus, my research project would consist of examining the quality and effectiveness of the procedural modes of ethical reasoning that are employed by healthcare professionals when they are navigating through a medical conflict that is complicated or problematized by their patient’s deeply held religious conviction. There are a variety of cases wherein the religiously motivated medical decisions of a patient go against the recommendation of the healthcare …show more content…
Firstly, due to the magnitude of these disputes, there are often dire consequences for those involved. Consequences include parent’s having their children taken away by the state as a result of not making medical care decisions that align with the practitioners involved. Moreover, the outcomes of these types of cases set a significant precedence for the larger medical community and society in which they occur. For these reasons, I would like to strive to find ways in which the ethical reasoning and actions of healthcare providers could be enhanced or improved in order to be more effectively constructed for dealing with cases that are particularly influenced by a patient’s religious