Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
11.2.2 Difference Between Ethics and Law
Both ethics and laws give rules of conduct to follow, with the fundamental goal of
protecting society. Laws stem from legislative statutes, administrative agency rules,
or court decisions. Laws often vary in different locales as laws evolve to reflect
societal needs and are enforceable only in those jurisdictions where they prevail.
Although ethical principles do not change because of geography (at least not within
one culture), interpretation of the principles may evolve as societies change. This
same evolution occurs within the law. Laws establish the rules that define rights and
obligations of a person in the society. Laws penalize people who violate these rules.
Ethics incorporates the broad values and beliefs of correct conduct. Good ethics
often make good laws, whereas good laws may not make good ethics. Although
societal values are incorporated into both the law and ethical principles and deci-
sions, ethical principles are basic to society. Most laws are derived from other laws,
although based loosely on societal principles. Significant overlap exists between
legal and ethical decision making. Both ethical analysis and the law use case-based
reasoning in an attempt to achieve consistency. Justice is a moral standard that ap-
plies to all human conduct. Therefore, the laws enforced by the government may
have a strong moral standard.
However, in some areas the law and bioethics differ markedly. The law oper-
ates under formal adversarial process rules, such as those in the courtroom, which
allow little room for deviation. On the other hand, ethics consultations are flex-
ible enough to conform to the needs of each institution and circumstance. Further,
ethical consultations are designed to assist all parties involved in the process rather
than being adversarial. The law also has some unalterable directives that require
specific actions. Bioethics is designed to weigh every specific situation on its own
merits although it is based on principles. The key difference between bioethics and
the law is that bioethics relies significantly on the individual person's values. Also,
even without the intervention of trained bioethicists, medical personnel can and
should make ethically decisions. The law does not consider individual values and
generally requires lawyers for interpretation.
An example for demonstrating the difference between bioethics and law is the
case of Dr. Kevorkian. In Michigan, Dr. Kevorkian was charged for violating the
assisted suicide law and delivering a controlled substance without a license in the
death of a patient. The patient was suffering from a terminal disease and his fam-
ily requested Dr. Kevorkian for help to end the pain and suffering of the patient.
The patient signed a notice stating the intension to die and chose direct injection.
However, Dr. Kevorkian was convicted of the murder and the family spoke against
the sentence. According to family members, it was ethical to end the patient's life.
However, according to the judicial system, Dr. Kevorkian violated the law.
11.2.3 Infl uence of Religion and Culture
Religious beliefs shape outlooks on every aspect of life including diet, lifestyle, and
moral beliefs. The tradition of medicine has also been strongly influenced by reli-
gion. Religion can dictate desired care and the medical decisions made by patients
and is important for organ donation. In homogenous societies (with one religion in
