ETHICAL PRINCIPLES UTILIZED IN BIOETHICAL REASONING
Five ethical principles employed in bioethical decision making:
1. Maintain Dignity
The function of healing professions is to help people to live satisfying and fulfilling human lives. For people to do this they must have a sense of self-respect and dignity. This is implemented by two basic sub-principles: a) Basic needs should be met. b) Individual autonomy should be respected.
2. Minimize Harm
Health care professionals unfortunately often encounter situations wherein harm is inevitable. In these cases, they must seek to minimize harm, or to choose the harms which are most easily reversible in the long run.
3. Promote Justice
Equals should be treated equally. This implies one should not discriminate on morally irrelevant grounds such as race, religion, gender, etc. It also implies working so as to produce a fair distribution of social burdens and benefits.
4. Be Beneficent
There are manifold goods and skills which extend beyond basic needs and which contribute to the quality of human life. Moral striving does not end with the achievement of a just society.
5. Be Truthful
Honesty is a central value in healthcare. We require honest relations with our patients in order to respect patient autonomy and inspire trust in the patient/healthcare provider relationship.
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