As the President of the ethics committee at the Sasquatch Clinic I am pleased to introduce the new policy proposal that will be implemented at the Hospital come January 1st. It is in my role that I find the best possible solutions for the good of the hospital. Some of the conclusions in this proposal may be disagreed with, however I stand by my committee’s ability at addressing matters in a fair, and logical way. Today, I am writing to address many ethical issues involving our local hospital, Sasquatch Clinic. These topics are of much debate in our current society. Additionally, some of these topics include the use of artificial reproductive technologies, whether we should subsidize abortion services for our under-insured patients, in addition, discussions involving prenatal testing. As we know, much of our donors are predominately of Irish-Catholic descent. Therefore, we want to keep their interests in mind, while also adhering to our new non-denominational values here at the Sasquatch Clinic. We serve a diverse group of patients in Connecticut that we want to respect and value their opinions regarding these subject matters. Ultimately, this proposal was created to best fit the multiple interests at hand while adhering to the values held at Sasquatch Clinic.
First, regarding the subject of subsidizing abortions the hospital will take a firm stance and not allow the subsidizing of abortions due to the magnitude of donations from a predominately Catholic group. According to their religious beliefs, Catholics do not believe abortion should be allowed. Therefore, Sasquatch Clinic will not provide financial support for these procedures to be done. This does not include if the patient is insured or can pay for the procedure themselves. The Christian faith believes that life begins at the moment of conception, and anything following that time would be killing a life. “Human life must be respected and protected from the moment of conception” (Donum Vitae 22). The basis for this decision is that majority of our donors are from the Catholic faith, and do not support the idea of abortion, especially if it was financially funded by the hospital. “The conclusions of science regarding the human embryo provide a valuable indication for discerning by the use of reason a personal presence at the moment of this first appearance of a human life” (Donum Vitae 26). This quote demonstrates the idea in the Catholic faith that the embryo itself holds human value, and therefore considered as equal to a fetus later on during pregnancy. Christianity promotes this argument with a centrality in the US, that other religions have not. That is why Christianity was the major contributor to addressing the topic at hand. Again, in the best interest of the Sasquatch Clinic, the ethics committee has concluded that the hospital will not subsidize abortion procedures due to the mass funding by Catholic donors.
Second, the ethics committee has been approached regarding the funding of IVF testing as well as prenatal testing in the hospital. As with the above discussion about abortion, the committee has decided to approach this topic with our patients in mind. Sasquatch clinic serves many patients with Jewish backgrounds. Furthermore, their beliefs and values will be taken into account regarding our decision behind funding IVF and prenatal testing. The committee has decided to fund the use of IVF, prenatal testing, and other artificial reproductive technologies. This was concluded based on fundamental beliefs in Judaism that a portion of our patients adhere to. In Israel, reproductive technologies are often encouraged as a way of maximizing the Jewish bloodline. Reproduction is considered as a duty bestowed upon by God in the faith, and if women and men are not able to complete the duty naturally, then technologies can be a way to complete that duty (Kahn 3). Since, the hospital serves a population of Jewish Americans, it is deemed as necessary to adhere to part of their belief system when discussing IVF, prenatal testing, and other forms of ART. Even women who are unmarried are held to hold the duty of maintaining the nuclear family through treatments of IVF (Kahn 45). This idea demonstrates the importance kinship has in the Jewish faith. Moreover, this is the basis as to why the hospital will subsidize ART technologies, IVF, and prenatal testing.
Finally, with the inclusion of ART technologies in the financial budget comes the discussion regarding the use of unused embryos for donation to potentially participate in research. For this topic, the committee focused on the Hindu approach to bioethical issues. As the Hindu population is large in Connecticut, the hospital values their beliefs if they are to be treated at Sasquatch Clinic. The Mahabharata is a Sanskrit epic that many Hindus look at for ethical questions and answers. In regards to the use of unused embryos, the committee has decided that families may choose to donate their unused embryos for research to a certain extent. This extent includes screenings for ethical research, and explicit consent given from the family. Restraint and limiting the use of this technology is encouraged according to the Mahabharata (Bhattacharyya 53). This idea encourages the use of reproductive technologies, while respectfully approaching the situation as well. Due to these beliefs, and the opinionated Hindu population found at Sasquatch Clinic, the committee has agreed to allow donation of unused embryos with certain limitations.
In conclusion, the ethics committee at Sasquatch Clinic takes pride in approaching each situation in a respectful, logical manner. The outcomes agreed upon discussed in this policy were concluded based on the greatest utility found within each decision. Sasquatch Clinic treats many people with many cultures, and who practice many religions. With this in mind, the committee found it fit to find the answers to these ethical questions in the best interest of some of our patient populations. In the question of subsidizing abortion procedures, IVF treatments, and prenatal testing the committee looked at the belief system of our patients when deciding the outcome of those solutions. Additionally, the question of donating unused embryos for research was also approached in this same manner. The ethics committee believes we have approached these decisions in the way that will benefit the hospital in the most successful way.
Works Cited
Bhattacharyya, Swasti. Magical Progeny, Modern Technology: A Hindu Bioethics of Assisted Reproductive Technology. State University of New York Press, 2006.
“Donum Vitae.” Catholic Information Network (CIN), 2009, www.cin.org/vatcong/donumvit.html.
Kahn, Susan Martha. Reproducing Jews: A Cultural Account of Assisted Conception in Israel. Duke Univ. Press, 2006
I will comment. -SL
will comment
Hi Madison,
I appreciate your multi-perspective approach regarding the policies on reproduction services and feel that your arguments are well-constructed. However, it did seem a little random to me why you chose one specific religions’ perspective to respond to one issue. I understand that using the Catholic faith to respond to policies on abortion is due to the importance of that Catholic donor base, but using only the Jewish perspective to respond to IVF treatment and only the Hindi perspective to respond to unused embryos do not seem very persuasive overall, especially if they are picked from the perspectives of only two of the minority groups in Sasquatch county. Since the Catholic donor base plays a large role in your context, wouldn’t providing IVF treatment, pre-natal testing, and donation of embryos be very troublesome to the Catholic donors? How would you balance these conflicts of interests?
In the first paragraph, you have stated that this proposal “was created to best fit multiply interests while adhering to the values held at Sasquatch clinics.” Perhaps it would be more clear if you stated the specific values in order for board members to better understand your approach to the policy making process. Your arguments for each specific issue raised are very strong due to its evidence based nature from the readings, but they could be easily refuted by using the perspectives from another ethnic or religious group. For example, you believe that Hindu approach should be valued in regards to unused embryos so that according to Mahabharata the embryos could be used for ethical research. One could argue however, from the Catholic perspective, “human life must be respected and protected from the moment of conception (you have mentioned this quote in your argument for abortion),” and thus embryos should be respected as human lives and should not be donated to research. IVF could also be contradicted by the Catholic belief of “natural conception” between “heterosexual married couples.”
The other two questions regarding spiritual counseling and nursing staff have not been addressed in the policy. For further creations on the policy, it may be best to provide some contextual information on your role as well as the hospital’s principle values to lay a foundation for your arguments and would therefore strengthen them.
Hi Madison and Lina,
Thanks for this. I can tell you both put some time into this.
Madison, I think Lina’s comments are well-placed and that you should take them seriously. Overall, this essay needs a lot of work. You need much more detailed and careful use of the readings, a more nuanced approach to difference between religious and cultural groups, and more attentio nto the logical consistency of your argument. There are also some issues with clarity of writing, and I have specific comments below. I would recommend taking this to the writing center if you are able.
1. “The conclusions of science regarding the human embryo provide a valuable indication for discerning by the use of reason a personal presence at the moment of this first appearance of a human life” (Donum Vitae 26). You mention the Church in this context, but Donum Vitae refers to the “conclusions of science.” What are we talking about? Is this just about church doctrine or also an empirical question?
2. This was concluded based on fundamental beliefs in Judaism that a portion of our patients adhere to. In Israel, reproductive technologies are often encouraged as a way of maximizing the Jewish bloodline. Did our readings actually talk about a bloodline? I don’t remember it. Is use of assisted reproductive technologies a “fundamental Jewish belief?” You need to clarify all of this.
3. There is a basic lack of clarity in this presentation. When it comes to IVF, you say that the committee considered Jewish/Israeli practices; for embryo donation you considered Hindu bioethics; for abortion you considered Catholic teachings. Why? This seems arbitrary, and the answer that these are just the particular readings we did is insufficient. You need to use these sources to think about what policies you would recommend adopting and why. You need an argument.
4. “This idea encourages the use of reproductive technologies, while respectfully approaching the situation as well. Due to these beliefs, and the opinionated Hindu population found at Sasquatch Clinic, the committee has agreed to allow donation of unused embryos with certain limitations.” A few problems here. What do you mean by respectfully approaching the situation? And what limitations do you have in mind? This has to be spelled out in much greater detail. And “opinionated Hindus” sounds like an insult. I think what you meant was “Hindus who have opinions”? But if so, what do you mean by that?
Good luck!
DS
Hi Madison,
This decision to not subsidize abortions will isolate the new community members and send a message that the non-denominational hospital is still linked to the Church. Many of the new community members may be upset by the hospital’s stance on abortion. The non-Catholic members of the community that may have different views of abortion will now have to travel far to get an abortion. However, the hospital will not lose funding from the prominent Irish Catholic families.
If you could be more specific about the “fundamental beliefs in Judaism” and give examples that would make your argument stronger. Your decision behind funding IVF aligns with the Jewish notion of maximizing the Jewish bloodline. Now families are able to start their own genetic families. As for the use of unused embryos, the Catholic community might find it concerning that these embryos are not being treated with respect if donated to research. Can you expand on what you mean by “donation of unused embryos with certain limitations”? Your use of the readings supports your argument but you can also address opposing arguments as well. I appreciate how you referenced the Mahabharata. It is a unique approach and you could also tie it back to IVF. The two other questions on whether or not to keep the clerical counseling in the hospital and what to do about historically Catholic nursing staff that refuse to perform abortion procedures.