Textbook of Medical Ethics
When physicians in training enter their clinical years and first begin to become involved in clinical decision making, they soon find that more than the technical data they had so carefully learned is involved. Prior to that time, of course, they were awa
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MEDICAL ETHICS
Textbook of MEDICAL ETHICS Erich H. Loewy, M.D. University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria Peoria, Illinois and University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago, Illinois
Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
ISBN 978-94-017-4481-2 ISBN 978-94-017-4479-9 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-4479-9
© 1989 Springer Science+Business Media New York Originally published by Plenum Publishing Corporation, New York in 1989 Softcoverreprint ofthe bardeover Istedition 1989
All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher
This book is dedicated to my students- past, present, and future
Acknowledgments
It is impossible to single out all the persons who have contributed to this book. Special thanks go to my chief, Dr. A. William Holmes, not
only for the opportunity to write this book but especially for creating within our Department of Medicine an atmosphere conducive to such efforts. His insights, encouragements, and criticisms were crucial for moving this work along. Likewise, very special thanks must go to Dr. David C. Thomasma and Dr. Larry R. Churchill for their criticisms, comments, and seminal suggestions as well as, and above all, for their friendship. Without them this work would have been impossible. I especially want to thank my students whose continued help and encouragement were so vital. Among the many, I especially want to thank Dr. Kurt Hopfensperger (currently doing his residency at the University of Kansas), Ms. Sally Rigler (about to be Dr. Rigler and also about to go to the University of Kansas), and Mr. Joel Diamant (a new Senior and my James scholar). These three waded through preliminary drafts, criticized, commented, and encouraged. Their special contributions were, and continue to be, invaluable. Lastly, and most certainly not least, I want to thank my wife. As a philosopher, her insights were essential; as a person, her support was of immeasurable importance. If this work does not fall "dead born from the presses," it is largely thanks to her.
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Preface
When physicians in training enter their clinical years and first begin to become involved in clinical decision making, they soon find that more than the technical data they had so carefully learned is involved. Prior to that time, of course, they were aware that more than technology was involved in practicing medicine, but here, for the first time, the reality is forcefully brought home. It may be on the medical ward, when a patient or a patient's relatives ask that no further treatment be given and that the patient be allowed to die; it may be in ob/gyn, when a 4- or 5-month pregnant lady with two other children and just deserted by her husband pleads for an abortion; it may be in the outpatient setting, where patients unable to afford enough to eat cannot afford to buy antibiotics for their sick child or provide him o
