Distinguishing between elective and therapeutic abortions undermines the moral agency of patients and disproportionately amplifies moral rather than medical dimensions of the procedure.
AMA J Ethics. 2018; 20(12):E1175-1180. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.1175.
Physicians should provide women considering abortion after Down syndrome screening with unbiased information and not attempt to influence their decision.
AMA J Ethics. 2016; 18(4):359-364. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2016.18.4.ecas1-1604.
Ruth L. Ackah, MD, Rohini R. Sigireddi, and Bhamidipati V. R. Murthy, MD
Although undocumented immigrants contribute to the pool of available organs and to the US tax base, they are not eligible for organ transplantation in most US states.
AMA J Ethics. 2019; 21(1):E17-25. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2019.17.
Labels commonly used in clinical settings, like “elective” or “therapeutic,” influence how we think about the justifiability of abortion. We talk with Professor Katie Watson and Dr Maryl Sackeim about how the language clinicians use to describe abortion can affect patients’ experiences and even cause harm.
William F. Parker, MD, MS and Marshall H. Chin, MD, MPH
Given organ scarcity, transplantation programs state that patient promises of compliance cannot be taken at face value, excluding candidates who are deemed untrustworthy.
AMA J Ethics. 2020; 22(5):E408-415. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2020.408.
Drs Katrina Bramstedt and Ana Iltis discuss the development of QoL assessment tools to help patient-subjects considering reconstructive transplantation.