Ethical and Spiritual Decision-Making: Fetal Abnormality Case Study

This case study delves into the complex ethical and spiritual dimensions of a fetal abnormality scenario, focusing on the principles of biomedical ethics within a healthcare context. It utilizes the Four-Box Model to analyze the case, addressing medical indications, patient preferences, the principles of beneficence, non-maleficence, respect for autonomy, quality of life, and contextual features. The analysis also incorporates a Christian worldview, exploring how religious beliefs influence ethical decision-making, particularly regarding abortion. The study examines the varying Christian perspectives on medical ethics, emphasizing the importance of individual ethical decisions guided by the life and teachings of Jesus and biblical principles. It explores the ethical considerations of potentially life-threatening situations for both mother and child, the impact of abortion on the patient, and the role of justice and religious beliefs in the decision-making process. The paper references relevant literature on medical ethics, abortion, and Christian perspectives on being human, offering a comprehensive view of the ethical challenges faced in such cases.

Running Head: BIOMEDICAL ETHICS AND SPIRITUAL DECISION
Biomedical Ethics and Spiritual Decision
Student’s Name
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BIOMEDICAL ETHICS AND SPIRITUAL DECISION
The Four-Box Model
Principles of Bioethics
Medical Indications Patients preferences
The principle of Beneficence and Nonmaleficence
The patient suffers from the foetal abnormality. The
condition is possibly terminal as a continuation of
pregnancy could kill the patient.
If the baby is carried full term, the mother's life will be
in critical danger and no guarantee of the child's
survival. If the child is aborted, the child will not
begin life; also, no guarantee mother will survive.
Respect for Autonomy
The patient is clear about her options and the
implications of her decisions
.
The doctor’s recommendation is to terminate the
pregnancy. The mother is yet to decide and must
weigh the two options given to her.
Quality of Life Contextual Features
Beneficence and Nonmaleficence and Respect for
Autonomy
The patient may die, leaving the child with a single
parent, also making her husband a widow, raising the
child by himself. If the child is aborted, the patient
may experience emotional distress as well as physical
side effects from the procedure.
Justice
The patient may be refusing abortion due to her
religious beliefs.
This late in pregnancy, there must be medical
evidence that the life or health of the patient is at
risk.
The father has a clinical decision of the child.
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BIOMEDICAL ETHICS AND SPIRITUAL DECISION
Christian worldview on principles of biomedical ethics
Worldviews cater to the cultural aspects that shape how we see the world, and they
offer to mean to live holistically. As detailed by Miller (2006), to Christians, God is the
creator of all things. Christians, therefore, believe that humans are the creation of God’s
image and likeness and therefore, God holds the opinions concerning the ethical standing of
human life in any form. There are also different Christian views on medical ethics, depending
on their opposing ideologies and practices.
Sumner (2014) Christians are also encouraged to make their individual ethical decisions
in reflection on the life and teaching of Jesus. Other Christians follow this ideology as others
will base their resolutions more on a mixture of their Christian background, their personal
experience and their everyday interaction with people and modern ideas. Therefore,
Christians have never held the same views about biomedical ethics, as there are almost no
mentions of matters abortion in the Bible.
According to Castuera (2017) it is unlikely to present a conclusive Christian view on
medical ethics. Still, it is likely to categorize many of the characters that provide more often,
to the opinions that most Christians have on these principles. At the most level, lie core
beliefs about the nature and character of God and about God’s connection with human beings
who were created in God's image.
From these beliefs, stem leading values that inform ethical decision making and they, in
turn, find illustration in particular practices. It is a feature of ethics that individuals other than
Christians may share similar guiding principles even though they may view them from
different points (Castuera, 2017). Christians should also make contributions to ethical
debates within society to reflect on the advances, changes and disagreements on biomedical
ethics that can be compromised even if being guided by Biblical values.
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BIOMEDICAL ETHICS AND SPIRITUAL DECISION
Pohling, Bzdok, Eigenstetter, Stumpf & Strobel (2016) suggested that, today's laws
highlight specific scenarios when a medical practitioner may procure an abortion, especially
if the life of the pregnant mother is compromised by the foetus, risking both of their lives. An
enlightened Christian society should therefore fundamentally affirm life, and ensures that all
of its members equitably enjoy this and other benefits and protection. In practice, this means
that specific attention must be assumed to vulnerable persons to preserve their lives
(Pohling, et al., 2016).
Based on Moreland & Ciocchi (2015) Christians ought to personalize the virtues and
character of Jesus, who is seen as the perfect person by Christians. The attaining of these
virtues will not only be a concern of intellectual knowledge of right and wrong but an active
submission and transformation through God's wisdom, to overcome all the complexities of
ethical predicaments and apply biblical principles in respect to human life and dignity.
It is also trusted that there is life after death and that there are two destinations a
human can either go after death which are heaven or hell. Christians, therefore, should avoid
any act of taking other people’s life since life is godly and given by God, it should be treated
with respect and dignity, and no one has the right to take it.
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BIOMEDICAL ETHICS AND SPIRITUAL DECISION
References
Castuera, I. (2017). A Social History of Christian Thought on Abortion: Ambiguity vs
Certainty in Moral Debate. American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 76(1),
121-227.
Homaifar, N., Freedman, L., & French, V. (2017). "She's on her own": a thematic analysis of
clinicians' comments on abortion referral. Contraception, 95(5), 470-476.
Moreland, J. P., & Ciocchi, D. M. (Eds.). (2015). Christian perspectives on being human: A
multidisciplinary approach to integration. Wipf and Stock Publishers.
Pohling, R., Bzdok, D., Eigenstetter, M., Stumpf, S., & Strobel, A. (2016). What is ethical
competence? The role of empathy, personal values, and the five-factor model of
personality in ethical decision-making. Journal of Business Ethics, 137(3), 449-474.
Sumner, L. W. (2014). Abortion and moral theory. Princeton University Press.
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