This book focuses on American health care ethics and law; if you’re looking for a health care ethics text with a Canadian focus, you might want to consider Readings in Health Care Ethics 2e or Well and Good 4e.
Bioethics: Legal and Clinical Case Studies is a case-based introduction to ethical issues in health care. Through seventy-eight compelling scenarios, the authors demonstrate the practical importance of ethics, showing how the concerns at issue bear on the lives of patients, health-care providers, and others. Many central topics are covered, including informed consent, medical futility, reproductive ethics, privacy, cultural competence, and clinical trials. Each chapter includes a selection of important legal cases as well as clinical case studies for critical analysis. The case studies are often presented as moral dilemmas and are conducive to rich discussion. A companion website offers a curated collection of relevant legal precedents along with additional case studies and other resources.
Bioethics: Legal and Clinical Case Studies can be used on its own, or packaged with Bioethics in Context for a discounted price. Please contact customerservice@broadviewpress.com for more information.
Comments
“This richly detailed collection of clinical and legal cases brings bioethics and jurisprudence to life. Readers will learn exactly how ethical and legal deliberation occurs in clinical environments. A multitude of realistic cases are followed by discussion questions. This book is ideal for bioethics professors and clinical instructors alike; the authors’ analyses are sophisticated, clear, concise, and accessible.” — Denise M. Dudzinski, Department of Bioethics & Humanities, University of Washington School of Medicine
“Bioethics: Legal and Clinical Case Studies is an outstanding contribution to the academic literature. Joseph P. DeMarco and Gary E. Jones cover the most significant issues of contemporary bioethics in a way that is highly accessible to the beginning student while still preserving the depth and complexity of the issues. Cases have been carefully selected to effectively reinforce the main themes of each topic. The emphasis on both morality and law appropriately reveals the interconnectedness of bioethical issues to both spheres, a feat rarely accomplished in this field. Cheers to DeMarco and Jones for delivering such effective, high-quality pedagogical material at an affordable price.” — Samuel LiPuma, Cuyahoga Community College
Introduction
Chapter 1: Moral Theory in Bioethics
- Consequentialism and Deontology
- Consequentialism
Kantian Deontology
Rule Theory
Case Study: Dr. Mando
- Alternative Approaches
- Principlism
Particularism
Virtue Ethics
Feminist Ethics and the Ethics of Care
Casuistry
- Do We Have a Moral Obligation to Obey the Law?
Conclusion
Exercises
Chapter 2: Informed Consent
- Introduction
Legal Cases
- I. Canterbury v. Spence
II. Jandre v. Bullis
III. Gorab v. Zook
- Case Studies
- IV. Emergency-Room Deliberation after a Critical Monocycle Accident
V. Protection for a “Decisionally Incapable” Patient
VI. Patient Coerced into additional Physical Therapy
VII. Unwanted Procedure during Surgery
VIII. Elderly Man Denied Informed Consent
IX. HIV Patient: Confidentiality Hampering Informed Consent
Chapter 3: Assessing Capacity
- Introduction
Legal Cases
- I. Lane v. Candura
II. Morinaga v. See Vue
lll. In Re Conservatorship of Pamela J.
- Case Studies
- IV. Decisional Capacity and Brain Surgery
V. Dementia and Decisional Capacity
VI. Capacity after a Motorcycle Accident
Chapter 4: Informed Refusal of Treatment
- Introduction
Legal Cases
- I. Cruzan v. Director
II. Vacco and Washington Cases
III. Carter v. Canada
- Case Studies
- IV. The Last Day of Her Life
V. Family Conflict: To Treat or Not to Treat?
VII. Family Supports a Child’s Rejection of Treatment
VIII. Patient Fails to Show up for Treatment
IX. Assisting Death
X. Terminal Sedation: Is it Death?
Chapter 5: Medical Futility
- Introduction
Legal Cases
- I. Futile Treatment of a Newborn?
II. Physician’s Right to Withhold Treatment
- Case Studies
- III. Doctor Orders Aggressive Treatment; Nurse Objects
IV. Appropriate CPR?
V. Lake Erie Tragedy
VI. Heart Failure, Excessive Weight, and CPR
VII. A Family Fights for a Patient’s Life
Chapter 6: Nursing Ethics
- Introduction
Legal Cases
- I. Lunsford and Tuma Cases
II. Rogers and Mathias Cases
III. Monahan and Morvillo Cases
IV. Hoffman and Ross Cases
- Case Studies
- V. Does the Nurse Know Better?
VI. Potentially Violent Patient
VII. Traditional Practice and Child Abuse
VIII. Nurse Refuses to Administer Pain Medication
Chapter 7: Privacy and Confidentiality
- Introduction
Legal Cases
- I. Tarasoff v Regents of the University of California
II. Reisner and Jarmie Cases
III. Nasser v. Parker
IV. Horne v. Patton
- Case Studies
- VI. Disclosing HIV
VII. Children Having Babies
VIII. Betrayal by a Physician?
IX. Dr. Dorchester’s Curiosity
X. Student Kills his Classmate: Is His Psychologist at Fault?
Chapter 8: Cultural Competence
- Introduction
Legal Cases
- I. Commonwealth v. Schaible
II. Quintero v. Encarnacion
III. Quintanilla v. Dunkelmen
- Case Studies
- IV. An Infant in a Persistent Vegetative State
V. Elder Abuse?
VI. An Amish Couple Refuses Treatment for Their Infant Daughter
VII. Newly Arrived Immigrant and Adherence to Treatment
VIII. Three Wives
Chapter 9: Human Reproduction
- Introduction
Legal Cases
- I. Roe and Casey Cases
- II. Becker v. Chessin
- III. K.M. v E.G.
- IV. Szafranski v. Dunston
- Case Studies
- I. Sterilization of a Developmentally Delayed Child
- II. Doubts about Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis
- III. Human Cloning
- IV. Abortion Advice
Chapter 10: Clinical Trials
- Introduction
- Legal Cases
- I. Suthers, et al v. Amgen, Inc.
- II. Cacchillo v. Insmed, Inc.
- Case Studies
- I. Mr. Rosewald’s Decision
- II. An Incidental Finding from a Brain Scan
- III. Was it Morally Appropriate to Stop Cancer Trial?
- IV. Dr. Rife’s Conflict of Interest
Chapter 11: Transplantation Ethics
- Introduction
Legal Cases
- I. McFall v. Shrimp
- II. Strunk and Pescinski Cases
- III. Hart v. Brown
- Case Studies
- I. Drug Dealer Wants a New Heart
- II. Transplantation and Blood Products
- III. Coerced Donation
Appendix: Basic Law
The American Legal System
- Common Law
Statutory Law
Executive Orders and Agencies
Constitutional Law
Criminal and Civil Law
Lawsuits
Index
Index of Legal Cases
Joseph P. DeMarco is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Cleveland State University.
Gary E. Jones is Professor of Philosophy at the University of San Diego and a member of the California Bar Association.
For Chapter Two: Informed Consent from Bioethics: Legal and Clinical Case Studies, click here. (Opens as PDF.)
This book has a companion website containing useful additional material for students, general readers, and practitioners of bioethics. It includes:
- • A comprehensive collection of over 200 legal cases; these cases will be especially useful to those who wish to examine a specific topic in greater detail for the purposes of a paper or other research project
- • Selected and edited bioethics state codes for each of the 50 states
- • An “Ethics Digest” containing encyclopedic entries on additional topics in ethical theory and bioethics, such as prima facie duties and social contract theory
- • A collection of interactive case studies in which the reader analyzes realistic scenarios through a series of multiple choice questions
- • PowerPoint slides highlighting key concepts and themes
Access to this website is included free with every new copy of Bioethics: Legal and Clinical Case Studies. Access can also be purchased separately here.
