Plain Anabaptists and Healthcare Ethics

Plain Anabaptists are a small but rapidly growing ethnoreligious society with significant concentrations of population in a number of regions in North America. Among the most widely known of the various groups of Plain Anabaptists are the Amish and the Old Order Mennonites. It is the purpose of this article to provide insight into the culture and values of the Plain Anabaptists so that those who may be called upon to address ethical conflict involving Plain Anabaptists can do so with appropriate knowledge and sensitivity. The discussion of the culture and values of the Plain Anabaptists will be organized as follows: first we will explore the implications of Plain Anabaptist culture and values for applying the ethical principles of respect for autonomy and beneficence/nonmaleficence. Second, a brief description of several elements of Plain Anabaptist culture will be discussed with attention to the potential they create for ethical conflict in the healthcare setting.