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Medical ethos and assisted suicide: ethical reflection regarding the role of a doctor
Salač, Jan ; Štica, Petr (advisor) ; Fošum, Jan (referee)
This diploma thesis deals with bioethical and medical issues of assisted suicide. Compatibility of assisted suicide and medical ethos is one of the most urgent ethical questions of modern medicine. The centre of the diploma thesis will consist of an ethical reflection of tension between assisted suicide by a doctor on one side and medical ethos, as contained, for example in the Hippocratic Oath, the code of the World Medical Association and other important medical documents, on the other side. In the introduction the diploma thesis describes the distinction between assisted suicide and other forms of active euthanasia, basic information about the legal regulations and essential elements of assisted suicide in individual countries where assisted suicide is legalized. Then, the subject will be systematically reflected based on critical analysis of the medical codes and legal regulations of the countries. Ethical reflection will also be based on the experience and reflection of doctors themselves, as recorded in professional ethical publications from countries where assisted suicide is practiced. The aim of this diploma thesis is to describe and reflect on the ethical perspective the tension that occurs in the medical assistance to assisted suicide and systematize ethically relevant issues that are...
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An ethical duty of the Hippocratic oath today
PETRŮ, Martina
The Hippocratic Oath probably comes from the 4th - 5th century BC. It is traditionally attributed to ancient physician Hippocrates or one of his disciples. It was created as a moral guide to behavior of physicians and it describes fundamental ethical principles of their profession in relation to the surroundings, family, teachers and the patient. In its time it represented a revolutionary rule.Text of the Hippocratic Oath has functioned as an oath sworn by inchoative physicians for centuries. Today it is replaced by a medical oath, which, in its different variants, is based on ethical Hippocratic requirements related to quality of contact between the physician and the patient. Changes in the Hippocratic Oath are mainly related to the development of surgery, transplantation, euthanasia, etc. The Hippocratic Oath refuses surgical interventions, because in times when it was created, these principles were in conflict with beneficence and intactness.This is the reason why it also rejects euthanasia and abortion.Nowadays, these interventions are already legalised in some countries to a certain extent and are applied according to relevant principles. Target of this Bachelor´s thesis was to find out what significance is attached to the Hippocratic Oath today. The thesis was conceived as a theoretical and historical comparative study aimed at the interpretation of content of the Hippocratic Oath, its further historical development and its today's validity or applicability. It was examined whether its text can compete in present times and which parts are still valid and which have been overcome. For this purpose, there was used a comparison of interpretation of content of the Hippocratic Oath with present moral codes in medicine, specifically with the Czech Medical Chamber Code and the Nurse Code of Ethics.In the introductory chapter of my Bachelor´s thesis, there are defined basic concepts related to the Hippocratic Oath, such as ethics, morality, medical ethics, relations between ethics and the law and basic medical principles. The next chapter deals with the author of the Oath, his teachings, times and circumstances of creation of the Hippocratic Oath, development of changes in the text of medical sponzes connected to changes in the society. The third chapter is dedicated to history of medicine from death of Hippocrates to present days.The last section is dedicated to the text analysis of the Hippocratic Oath in connection with current status of the medical field, and at the same time there was carried out a comparison of its text with applicable codes mentioned above. Aim of this thesis, in addition to interpretation and validity findings of the Hippocratic Oath, is to reveal identical and different elements referring to its text in the codes. Mutual comparison revealed that ethical issues of both codes are in accordance with the Hippocratic Oath. General ethical principles like decency, thoughtfulness and mutual respect are concepts, which have effect even today. I would say that in some points the Hippocratic Oath is obsolete and does not have anything to offer today. However, the opposite is true. Nowadays, medicine develops at an incredible pace and good relations between the physician and the patient slowly fade away. The patient is increasingly becoming some kind of material substance. Physicians often carry out their work under pressure of environment, insurance companies, pharmaceutical and other companies. Decency, empathy and good manners are disappearing. Nowadays, the Hippocratic Oath cannot fully encompass all complicated relationships and problems physicians face during their performance of their occupation, and according to these problems they should choose actual ethical practices. Despite its age, however, it is still accepted by laical and professional public for its unquestionable moral legacy.
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Abortion as an Ethical Problem
ZÍBAROVÁ, Zuzana
This thesis deals with ethical aspects of abortion. In the theoretical part, I focus first on the definition of the term abortion and its legal history. I also follow the use and development of contraception and review certain legal and medical conditions necessary for performing the procedure. I try to define ethics, discuss moral judgment and some ethical concepts. I list some of the groups fighting for the annulment of law that legalizes abortion in the Czech Republic. Further, I turn my attention to doctors and their views, to Hippocrates{\crq} oath and post-abortive syndrome. I touch upon the issue of emotions, decisions and principles. I also concentrate on abortion as a result of the child{\crq}s disability or a solution after a crime. I claim that women might face the threat of social exclusion as a consequence of the abortion. I provide information on holism, ascentism and maternal instinct. I follow the development of attitude to parenthood. The work is completed by analysis of the collected data. In this part, I present various opinions regarding abortion. I seek to find out whether the respondents think that they are sufficiently informed about the issue of abortion and which sources they use, when the fetus becomes a human being and whether they think that the father{\crq}s consent is necessary for the procedure. I inquire whether they agree with abortion in general or only for specific reasons and whether the woman has the right to decide about life and death of the unborn child. The goal of the work was to present various ethical views of the given issue and to review opinions regarding the abortion rate and procedure of a selected section of inhabitants of the Ústí region. The research was conducted through quantitative approach, method of questioning and technique of questionnaire. It was performed in bigger towns and cities of the region. The sample consisted of 300 people. I set two hypotheses. First hypothesis: The older generation opposes the idea of abortion more strongly than the younger. Second hypothesis: In the Ústí region there are more people who agree with abortion than those who disagree. While the first hypothesis proved false, the second one proved correct.
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