List of medical ethics cases: Difference between revisions

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| 1945-1947
| 1945-1947
| 18 people were injected with [[plutonium]] by [[Manhattan project]] doctors. None of the patients was told what was going on, and the doctors did not ask for their consent. See [[Eileen Welsome]]'s book ''[[The Plutonium Files]]''.<ref name=rc> R.C. Longworth. [http://intl-bos.sagepub.com/content/55/6/58.full.pdf+html Injected! Book review:The Plutonium Files: America's Secret Medical Experiments in the Cold War], ''[[The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists]]'', Nov/Dec 1999, 55(6): 58-61.</ref>
| 18 people were injected with [[plutonium]] by [[Manhattan project]] doctors. None of the patients was told what was going on, and the doctors did not ask for their consent. See [[Eileen Welsome]]'s book ''[[The Plutonium Files]]''.<ref name=rc> R.C. Longworth. [http://intl-bos.sagepub.com/content/55/6/58.full.pdf+html Injected! Book review:The Plutonium Files: America's Secret Medical Experiments in the Cold War], ''[[The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists]]'', Nov/Dec 1999, 55(6): 58-61.</ref>
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| [[Doctors' Trial]]
| [[Doctors' Trial]]
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| 1962-1979
| 1962-1979
| Controversial Australian [[psychiatrist]] Harry Bailey treated mental patients via [[Deep sleep therapy]], and other methods, at a Sydney mental hospital. He has been linked with the deaths of 85 patients.<ref>[http://books.google.fr/books?id=efnJv5VDUYAC&pg=PT144&dq=%22charles+hewitt%27+%22bodkin+adams%22&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=4#v=onepage&q=%22charles%20hewitt%27%20%22bodkin%20adams%22&f=false ''Medical Murder'', Robert M. Kaplan]</ref> He committed suicide before he could be punished.
| Controversial Australian [[psychiatrist]] Harry Bailey treated mental patients via [[Deep sleep therapy]], and other methods, at a Sydney mental hospital. He has been linked with the deaths of 85 patients.<ref>[http://books.google.fr/books?id=efnJv5VDUYAC&pg=PT144&dq=%22charles+hewitt%27+%22bodkin+adams%22&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=4#v=onepage&q=%22charles%20hewitt%27%20%22bodkin%20adams%22&f=false ''Medical Murder'', Robert M. Kaplan]</ref> He committed suicide before he could be punished.
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| [[Human radiation experiments]]
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| 1970s
| Human radiation experiments directed by the [[United States Atomic Energy Commission]] and the Manhattan Project continued into the 1970s. In Nashville, pregnant women were given radioactive mixtures. In Cincinatti, some 200 patients were irradiated over a period of 15 years. In Chicago, 102 people received injections of strontium and cesium solutions. In Massachusetts, 74 schoolboys were fed oatmeal that contained radioactive substances. In all these cases, the subjects did not know what was going on and did not give informed consent.<ref name=rc/> The government covered up most of these radiation mishaps until 1993, when President [[Bill Clinton]] ordered a change of policy. The resulting investigation was undertaken by the [[Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments]]. See ''[[The Plutonium Files]]''.
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Revision as of 23:06, 17 September 2012

Some cases have been remarkable for starting broad discussion and for setting precedent in medical ethics.

List of medical ethics cases

Research

Research
case country location year summary notes
Henry Cotton's surgical removal of body parts to try to improve mental health United States New Jersey 1920s Controversial psychiatrist Henry Cotton at Trenton State Hospital in New Jersey became convinced that insanity was fundamentally a toxic disorder and he surgically removed body parts to try to improve mental health.[1][2][3][4]
Medical Experimentation on Black Americans United States Various Occurred over many decades There has been a long history of medical experimentation on African Americans. From the era of slavery to the present day, black American's have been unwitting subjects of medical experimentation.[5][6] Author Harriet Washington argues that "diverse forms of racial discrimination have shaped both the relationship between white physicians and black patients and the attitude of the latter towards modern medicine in general".[7]
Plutonium injections United States 1945-1947 18 people were injected with plutonium by Manhattan project doctors. None of the patients was told what was going on, and the doctors did not ask for their consent. See Eileen Welsome's book The Plutonium Files.[8]
Doctors' Trial United States 1946 German medical doctors went on criminal trial for Nazi human experimentation, see The Years of Extermination.
Henrietta Lacks United States Baltimore 1951 A product derived from a cancer patient's specimen, HeLa is the cornerstone of an industry. Cancerous tissue was taken from her without her consent.
Albert Kligman's dermatology experiments United States Philadelphia 1951-1974 Clinical non-therapeutic medical experiments on prison inmates at Holmesburg Prison in Philadelphia from 1951 to 1974, conducted under the direction of dermatologist Albert Kligman.[9]
Harry Bailey's Deep sleep therapy Australia Sydney 1962-1979 Controversial Australian psychiatrist Harry Bailey treated mental patients via Deep sleep therapy, and other methods, at a Sydney mental hospital. He has been linked with the deaths of 85 patients.[10] He committed suicide before he could be punished.
Human radiation experiments United States 1970s Human radiation experiments directed by the United States Atomic Energy Commission and the Manhattan Project continued into the 1970s. In Nashville, pregnant women were given radioactive mixtures. In Cincinatti, some 200 patients were irradiated over a period of 15 years. In Chicago, 102 people received injections of strontium and cesium solutions. In Massachusetts, 74 schoolboys were fed oatmeal that contained radioactive substances. In all these cases, the subjects did not know what was going on and did not give informed consent.[8] The government covered up most of these radiation mishaps until 1993, when President Bill Clinton ordered a change of policy. The resulting investigation was undertaken by the Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments. See The Plutonium Files.
Tuskegee syphilis experiment United States Tuskegee, Alabama 1972 A 40-year experiment withholds the standard medical advice from a poor minority population with an easily treatable disease.
Moore v. Regents of the University of California United States California 1976 Researchers commercialize a patient's discarded body parts. The man was not deceived into giving up his rights and researchers did not obtain informed consent. He did not want his donation to generate commercial profit for private entities.
Willowbrook State School United States Staten Island 1987 A school had been infecting disabled children in experiments for years.
Greenberg v. Miami Children's Hospital Research Institute United States Florida 2003 Patients donated tissue samples, which researchers subsequently used in a plan to generate profit.

Physician wishes to act against patient's wishes

Against patient's wishes
case country location year summary notes
Betancourt v. Trinitas United States New Jersey 2008 A hospital wishes to refuse treatment to someone whom it judges to have no chance of living.
Mordechai Dov Brody United States Brooklyn 2008 The parents of a brain-dead boy want to keep his heart beating.
Lantz v. Coleman United States Connecticut 2007 Prison officials question whether to force-feed inmates who are on hunger strike.
Tirhas Habtegiris United States Texas 2005 The hospital removes life support from an unconscious immigrant from Eritrea against her family's wishes. The family are in a foreign country and unable to travel.
Rom Houben Belgium 2010 A man seems to be in a persistent vegetative state, and after 23 years a communication test is conducted.
Sun Hudson case United States Texas 2004 An infant is removed from life support against his mother's wishes.
Baby K United States Virginia 1992 The mother of an anencephalic baby wishes to keep the child on life support perpetually.
Jesse Koochin United States Salt Lake City 2004 Parents wish to keep a child on life support.
Spiro Nikolouzos United States Texas 2005 A family wishes to keep life support for a man in a persistent vegetative state.
David Vetter United States Texas 1984 A boy dies at age 12 after living a lifetime with highly unusual medical care in a sterile environment.
Gillick competence England 1985 Protests are held over the right of minors to request contraception from their doctor.

Person wishes for assisted suicide

Assisted suicide
case country location year summary notes
Betty and George Coumbias Canada 2007 A couple request the legal right to commit suicide together.
Dax Cowart United States 1973 A man who suffered severe burns requests the right to die.
Giovanni Nuvoli Italy 2007 A man in pain requests a legal right to die.
Sue Rodriguez Canada Victoria, British Columbia 1991 A woman requests a right to assisted suicide.
Ramón Sampedro Spain Galacia 1998 For 29 years a man requests his right to assisted suicide.
Aruna Shanbaug case India Karnataka 2011 A court case debates the right to die for a woman in a persistent vegetative state for 37 years.
Piergiorgio Welby Italy 2006 A patient requests a legal right to die.

Person wishes for euthanasia for another

Euthanasia of another
case country location year summary notes
Andrew Bedner United States White River Junction, Vermont 2008 A parent is charged with critically harming his child who is on life support. If the child dies, the parent may be charged with murder. Is there a conflict of interest in the parent overseeing the hospital care of his child?
Tony Bland England Sheffield 1993 Bland was the first patient in English legal history to be allowed to die by the courts through the withdrawal of life-prolonging treatment.
Carol Carr United States Georgia 2002 A mother euthanizes her adult sons to relieve their suffering from Huntington's disease.
Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health United States Missouri 1990 The parents of a woman in a persistent vegetative state request the right to remove her life support equipment.
Baby Doe Law United States New York 1983 The parents of a child born with horrible birth defects request the right to refuse treatment and keep the child off life support.
Eluana Englaro Italy Lecco 1992 Parents receive permission to remove the life support from a woman in a persistent vegative state for 17 years.
June Hartley United States California 2009 A sister is charged with euthanizing her brother after he has medical problems.
Jack Kevorkian United States Michigan 1994 A medical doctor advocates for assisted suicide and the right to die.
Robert Latimer Canada 1993 A man euthanizes his child who has lived for years in pain.
Karen Ann Quinlan United States New Jersey 1976 A 21 year old girl is in a persistent vegetative state. Her parents wish to remove her from artificial respiration.
Terri Schiavo case United States Florida 2005 A woman is in a persistent vegetative state. Her husband wishes to remove her life support. Her parents wish her to remain on life support.

References

  1. ^ Ian Freckelton. Madhouse: A Tragic Tale of Megalomania and Modern Medicine. (Book review), Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, Vol. 12, No. 2, 2005, pp. 435-438.
  2. ^ David Gollaher. Madhouse: A Tragic Tale of Megalomania and Modern Medicine (review), Journal of Social History, Volume 39, Number 4, Summer 2006, pp. 1221-1223.
  3. ^ Book Review: Madhouse: A Tragic Tale of Megalomania and Modern Medicine, BMJ, 330:1276 (28 May 2005).
  4. ^ Book Review: Madhouse: A Tragic Tale of Megalomania and Modern Medicine, History of Psychiatry, Vol. 17, No. 4, 499-500 (2006).
  5. ^ Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present Google Books.
  6. ^ Alondra Nelson. Unequal Treatment: How African Americans have often been the unwitting victims of medical experiments The Washington Post, January 7, 2007.
  7. ^ Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present Social History of Medicine (2007) 20 (3): 620-621.
  8. ^ a b R.C. Longworth. Injected! Book review:The Plutonium Files: America's Secret Medical Experiments in the Cold War, The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Nov/Dec 1999, 55(6): 58-61.
  9. ^ Theresa Richardson. Acres of Skin: Human Experiments at Holmesburg Prison (Review) Canadian Journal of History, April 1, 2001.
  10. ^ Medical Murder, Robert M. Kaplan