“ decision scenarios ” section H u m a n i t i e s

Ethical Considerations Associated and the procurement and transplantation of vital organs

Use your Intervention and Reflection text: Basic Issues in Bioethics (Concise Ed). Boston, MA: Wadsworth by Munson, R., 2014 to read Chapter 8, “Organ Transplants and Scarce Medical Resources,” on pages 354–361. This chapter will provide you with an understanding of hard ethical choices that health care professionals (and society as a whole) face when it comes to distributing specific services, treatments, medications, and so on.

1. This presents at least two major sets of ethical problems. The first set concerns the ethics of distributing organs: Who should receive an organ first? Should it simply be the next person on the list, or should other factors such as lifestyle or age be relevant? Should a nonsmoker get priority over a person in need of a lung because of years of smoking? The second set of ethical issues arises from procuring organs. How can we increase the supply? Would it be wrong to pay people to register as donors? Would it be wrong to simply take them after a person has died?

Challenging Ethical Questions associated with managing and preventing Pandemics and Epidemics

Use your Intervention and Reflection text: Basic Issues in Bioethics (Concise Ed). Boston, MA: Wadsworth by Munson, R., 2014 to read Chapter 12, “Epidemic! AIDS and HIV,” on pages 457–463. Feel free to write about something discussed in the textbook about that crisis. A good place to look for ideas is the “Decision Scenarios” section, which presents case studies that raise challenging ethical questions. You may also choose to post about other pandemics and epidemics and the ethical questions they pose. For instance, is it morally wrong to avoid the flu shot? After all, receiving the shot not only protects the person receiving it, but also, thereby, protects other people in society. A controversial topic right now is parents’ refusal of the schedule of childhood vaccines for their children. Some people believe that having received the regular schedule of vaccines should be a requirement for attending a public school. Is that going too far, or is it a reasonable restriction? Whatever you choose to write about, include in your post thoughts about which moral theory or ethical principle would best support your view. This chapter will introduce you to important ethical considerations that governments, institutions, and individuals must bear in mind when preparing for potential epidemics and handling outbreaks when they occur. Read below articles.

• Hendrix, K. S., Sturm, L. A., Zimet, G. D., & Meslin, E. M. (2016). Ethics and childhood vaccination policy in the United States. American Journal of Public Health, 106(2), 273–278.
• Silverman, R. D., & Wiley, L. F. (2017). Shaming vaccine refusal. Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 45(4), 569–581.

2. For your discussion post, first select the problem you find most compelling: ethical problems of distribution or ethical problems surrounding procurement of vital organs. Then answer one of the questions above. In your answer, include thoughts about which moral theory or ethical principle would best support your view.