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Related Experiment Videos

Should doctors intentionally do less than the best?

J Savulescu1

  • 1Murdoch Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia.

Journal of Medical Ethics
|May 5, 1999
PubMed
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Doctors should prioritize patient wellbeing by offering the best available medical options. Deviating to less optimal choices, like those in reproductive technologies, requires strong justification beyond genetic relation desires.

Area of Science:

  • Medical Ethics
  • Reproductive Technologies
  • Bioethics

Background:

  • This commentary addresses the ethical dilemma doctors face when patients request non-optimal medical interventions.
  • It specifically examines reproductive technologies such as cloning, preimplantation diagnosis, and embryo transfer in light of patient desires for genetically related offspring.

Discussion:

  • The core argument posits that physicians have a primary duty to maximize patient wellbeing.
  • Deviating from this duty, termed 'submaximization,' is permissible only when supported by substantial ethical reasoning.
  • The desire for genetic relatedness is presented as insufficient justification for submaximization in reproductive choices.

Key Insights:

  • Physicians must ethically guide patients towards choices that ensure the highest possible wellbeing for the individual.
Keywords:
Analytical ApproachGenetics and Reproduction

Related Experiment Videos

  • Reproductive technologies should be employed only if they offer a justifiable reason for potentially suboptimal outcomes.
  • The ethical framework requires a careful balancing of patient autonomy and the principle of beneficence.

    • Outlook:

    • Further exploration is needed to define 'good reasons' for submaximization in complex medical scenarios.
    • This ethical analysis has implications for policy development in assisted reproductive technologies.
    • The commentary encourages a nuanced approach to patient-centered care, prioritizing long-term wellbeing.