Ethical Dilemma Paper
Analysis of an Ethical Dilemma in
Current Events
I
decided to analyze ethical dilemma in healthcare industry. Some of the issues
range right from vaccination of children to issues of death. These issues cover
the lifespan right from conception to death. In regard to this paper, I shunned
away from issues of life and death. This is because I have a strong moral as
well ethical stance to allow patients to die with the dignity that they
deserve. It is not right to give treatment that is not quality to patients. If
a patient makes a decision of to become a DNR or refuses life sustaining treatments,
they ought to have the autonomy to do so. A recent example is the death of
Steve Jobs. Now that he has passed on, everyone including his brothers is of
the opinion that he was a difficult patient. We cannot go back and try to
establish how long he would have survived. They claim that he turned down life
saving drugs and surgeries. This is so easy to claim now that he has passed on.
It is not morally correct to go back and do whipples to establish how long he
would have survived. This is because they can lead to many complications that
do not guarantee a prolonged life.
A
recent ethical issue that I decided to use for this paper is a recent dilemma
of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination for boys. Vaccination in general
has been a subject raising concerns as far as ethical issues are concerned,
from parents who have the belief of false linking of the vaccination to autism,
to pediatricians who refuse to continue to provide care to their patients whose
parents refuse to vaccinate, to their newest dilemma of the HPV vaccination. “This
dilemma includes the recent comment made by Republican presidential candidate
Michele Bachmann about HPV vaccine causing mental retardation,” (Los Angeles
Times, 2013).
HPV
has since been used since 2006 on girls, for the sake of preventing
papillomavirus, and can lead to genital warts as well as cervical cancer. The
vaccine, as with all the intramuscular injections are believed to cause
soreness at the site of the injection. In some cases, patients have been said
to faint, which has been listed as an adverse event of the process of
vaccination. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has also
confirmed that thirty four deaths have been linked to the vaccination, but has
not actually specified the role of vaccination in these deaths (LA Times, 2013).
A
panel of experts under The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, who
advice the CDC, voted 13-0 to make recommendations to routinely vaccinate boys
between the ages of seven and twelve against HPV. This recommendation comes from the panel after
it has even established that HPV is the most sexually transmitted disease. This
is a dangerous disease because it can cause genital warts and many kinds of
cancers including cervical, vaginal, anal, head and neck, throat, and oral.
These cancers emanate from sexual activity and also the spread of HPV. The
panel also suggests vaccinating boys until the age of twenty six, although it
is said that the vaccine is ineffective after the start of the sexual activity.
This is the main reason as to why it is recommended to be administered to boys
of ages eleven to twelve before the start of sexual activity (Harris, 2013).
Some
of the controversy surrounding this vaccines recommendation to boys is the fact
that parents have the feeling that oral and anal cancer is associated to
homosexual acts, and approaching this issue with parents and young boys can be
difficult. Vaccinating boys will not only be important to the boys but also to
the girls. Some people have the feeling that the vaccination might target
homosexual or bisexual makes (Harris, 2013).
An
alternative to recommending this vaccination is by including education in the
entire process. This will help in sensitizing and cultivating a positive
attitude towards the vaccine in people. Doctors need to educate parents and
children, and this can be added to sex education in schools. The recommendation
to vaccinate these boys might lead to some states making it a mandatory
exercise. “Utilitarian theory is when the outcome is what makes an act good or
bad. A good outcome determines that the act was good. The thought behind this
vaccine is that it is essentially a "cancer vaccine." William
Schaffner, chairperson of the department of preventative medicine at Vanderbilt
University School of Medicine stated, "A vaccine against cancer was the
dream of our youth," (Harris, 2013).
For
this vaccine to become standard for everyone, it is important to educate people
on the same. The thought that it is meant for homosexuals should not be the
subject. Oral sex has become very common among the current youth because they
don’t consider this as sex. Head and neck, throat as well as neck cancer cases
are on the rise because of this. If this vaccine can help reduce these cancers,
then it should be mandated. According to statistics, only a third of girls have
received this vaccine since it was mandated in 2006. This calls for a massive education to
sensitize people on the drug.
The
dilemma that this recommendation has brought is the issue that it targets gays.
The question is whether preteens even know what gay is. It is also important to
increase the target age bracket. An alternative is to make this vaccine a
universal vaccine. The planned action should be to conduct an education program
to sensitize people on the important of being vaccinated, and any side effects,
and giving them the opportunity to choose or not to. Lastly the dilemma that
has not been mentioned in the research is the long term effects of the vaccine.
Since it has just been recommended in 2006, and is administered to preteens,
could this affect their adult lives? The issue to prevent the cancers is
paramount, but we should ask ourselves of any other costs.
References
Harris, G., (2013). Panel Endorses HPV Vaccine for
Boys of 11. October 25th, 2011 from web on February 01, 2013
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/26/health/policy/26vaccine.html
Los Angeles Times, (2013). Retrieved on February 01,
2013 from
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/oct/25/news/la-heb-hpv-bachmann-201111025
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