DE LA SALLE HEALTH SCIENCES CAMPUS – COLLEGE OF MEDICINE

Detoxicol
SDLS 2008
Medicine for the intoxicated
Subject: Bioethics Lecture Date: January 19, 2006
Topic: Basic Bioethical Principles of OB 2 Transcriber(s): Zhaleen and Beth
Lecturer: Fr. Danny Tiong No. of pages: 3

BASIC BIOETHICAL PRINCIPLES IN OBSTETRICS 2

WHAT SHOULD BE THE CRITERIA IN MAKING A MORAL JUDGEMENT?

 Respect, defense and promotion of man or of life

 PRENOTES
♥ Because the fundamental principle is human life, it is transmitted and it is a personal and
conscious act and they are subjected to the laws of God and that life is a gift from God
♥ We must respect, promote and defend human person.
♥It should be for the good of the human person

 Man’s “primary and fundamental right” to life

 NOT right to shelter or food, but LIFE
 Important when there is a conflict between maternal and fetal life
 PRENOTES
♥From this we can pre-empt that we cannot violate life. (abortions, etc…)

 Man’s dignity as a person endowed with a spiritual soul and with a moral responsibility
 The dignity of a human person is spelled out by the 5 fundamental principles of bioethics:
♥ Sanctity and Inviolability of life
♥ Human Dignity
♥ Autonomy
♥ Stewardship and Accountability
♥ Totality

 Implied in moral responsibility, is the autonomy of the human person to be able to make his own choices
and decisions.
 PRENOTES
♥ Where do we see the dignity of a human persons?
o In the soul
 Which is why we mentioned earlier, in any intervention to the physical, we should
always have to consider the higher level, which is the soul-, the intellect and will-
dignity of the human persons
 Man is said to be made in the image and likeness of GOD, and this is seen in the
soul, our freedom, our intellect and our will is actually the image and likeness of
God in us

 Man is called to a beatific communion with God.

 PRENOTES: What is beatific communion/vision? When we go to heaven, we see God face to face, not by
the physical eyes, but by the spiritual eyes. There is a beatific communion of man with God. And this
makes it all the more dignified because when a person dies, it doesn’t end there, he continues to live in a
different place or condition.

PRINCIPLES OF OBSTETRICS AND BIRTH REGULATION

On human procreation…
 It requires the responsible collaboration of the spouses with the fruitful love of God
 The gift of human life must be actualized in legitimate marriage
♥ Because it is in marriage that exclusive acts between husband and wife are performed in order
that procreation may be done.
♥ Does NOT mean that any illegitimate child has no right

 Legitimate marriage
♥ Civil – proper marriage license
♥ Religious – church, whatever denomination
  PRENOTES
♥Collaboration- means that both spouses understand the consequence of their actions, that mere
act itself can result to child-bearing in the part of the woman, and fatherhood on the part of the man
 Both spouses partake in the creative work of God; therefore they are co-creators, assuming the duties as parents
for the propagation of the human species.
 PRENOTES
♥We must remember that our parents are the image of the invisible God in out domestic church,
which is the family
o We must be subject to their authority having been specified in the 4th commandment

 The gift of human life must be actualized in marriage through the specific and exclusive acts of husband and wife in
accordance with the laws inscribed in their persons and in their unborn.

***Human procreation must be within the context of human marriage

***The spouses should keep in mind that their mutual self-giving and the resulting procreation should be an expression of
authentic personal love

***Family planning is not the same as birth regulation

***Birth regulation does not focus on numbers, not on quantity but on quality of rising up children

CONJUGAL ACT

Two meanings of conjugal act: inseparable from each other

 Unitive
 Moral aspect
♥ Love-giving
♥ Moral/spiritual oneness or unity of husband and wife

 Husband and wife render mutual help and services to each other through an intimate union of their persons
and their actions

 Procreative
 Physical aspect
♥ Life giving

 The natural ordination of the conjugal act towards the creation of human life

***Giving Assisted Reproductive Technology can’t be totally accepted due to the separation of these two

PRENATAL DIAGNOSIS

 Prenatal diagnosis
 Must respect the life and integrity of the embryo or fetus
 Must be directed towards the safeguarding and healing of the individual
 2 instances where prenatal diagnosis can be done
♥ To establish health of fetus
o Ex. Amniocentesis
o Ethically acceptable
o But whatever the outcome may be, the fetus may not and cannot be aborted, but should be
allowed to live
o Cant’ terminate pregnancy based on the diagnosis
 Ex. Anencephaly, Down Syndrome, Spina bifida
o Can be used to prepare the parents as to what’s to come

♥ To treat an embryo
o Must be done with:
 The outmost care
 High probability of success
 Low risk

 May not be done if there is an intention to terminate the pregnancy if it is discovered that there are
problems, malformation, and congenital anomalies.

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***You can’t sacrifice the fetus’s life for the mother’s life

LEGITIMACY AND CRITERIA OF THE THERAPEUTIC PROCEDURES ON HUMAN EMBRYO

 Strictly therapeutic
 Aim is to heal

 Explicit objective is healing of maladies

 Has to be clear and specific

 Directed to the promotion of the well being of the individual/embryo

 NOT directed to the personal well-being of mother

 Does not harm the integrity of the fetus

 Risk should be less
 Integrity: Life

 Must not worsen the pre-existing condition

 Delicate and particular precautions in embryonic/fetal life are called for

***1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th focus on the embryo

MAIN PRINCIPLES OF PREGNANCY AND DELIVERY

 Principle of sanctity and inviolability of human life

 Principle of double effect
 In the case of indirect abortion: maternal-fetal conflicts
♥ When procedure is done and medically needed but brings about the death of the fetus
♥ Not intended but permitted
♥ Example: Mother has cervical cancer, fetus may not live but mother survives

 No direct attack either on the life of the unborn or life of the mother
 We cannot say, “Fetus, you die for the sake of mom,” or “Mom, you die for the sake of the fetus.”
 If there is maternal-fetal conflict…proceed to the next one

 To answer the question: Which life is to be saved?

 No direct answer, why?
♥The life of the mother and fetus are equal in value.
 Question should not be asked!!
 Don’t ask the husband to choose, instead, explain the situation and ask him to be prepared and pray
 Also, do your best to save both lives but if one of them dies, it’s considered a natural death and you are not
guilty

 The nature of the disorder or trauma determines which one can be possibly saved
 No preference; pending on the nature of the disorder or trauma.
 The one who has a greater chance of survival, should be saved, the other would die a natural death
 This is the information that the doctor should give the family
 Do not allow the family to choose which life should be saved

 Both the mother and the baby are treated with reverence
 Because both lives are equal in value
♥The value? LIFE

 Moms life = fetal life

------------------------------------------------------END OF TRANX------------------------------------------------------

I. House Guarded By Shotgun 3 Days A Week. Guess III. Actual Headline: Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery;
Which Days. Hundreds Dead
II. Give a man a match, and he'll be warm for a minute, IV. The real trouble with reality is that there's no
but set him on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his background music.
life.
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 V. If my calculations are correct SLINKY + ESCULATOR
= EVERLASTING FUN
VI. Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but some abuse the
privilege.
VII. Always remember you're unique, just like everyone
else.
VIII. War doesn't determine who's right. War determines
who's left.
IX. Sarcasm helps keep you from telling people what you
really think of them.
X. Answering Machine Saying: Sorry I can’t get to the
phone right now because my girlfriend and I are doing
our favorite thing together. Personally I like doing it up
and down, while she likes doing it side-to-side r-e-a-l
slow... So I’ll get back to you when we finish brushing
our teeth.
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