Bioethics Cases

Six case studies explore how accessibility intersects with health care, education, and workplace ethics. The cases serve as a foundation for difficult dialogues, in-class discussions, or workshops and should be used by stakeholders involved in disability advocacy, education, health care, and policy-making.

An obstetrician treating a heroin-addicted mother considers whether to comply with state law requiring medical professionals to report drug-addicted pregnant women to law enforcement for child endangerment.

A drug treatment counselor considers whether to allow a patient a second chance in the drug-treatment program, against stated program rules.

A religious cleric considers how to support a member of the community struggling with depression and alcoholism, who declines recommended referral to expert medical treatment.

A primary care physician considers if s/he can competently provide treatment to a patient who may have a serious psychiatric disorder and does not wish to go to another doctor.

A physician considers whether to honor a promising medical student’s request to withhold a diagnosis of depression from her record. The medical student fears a record of depression could hurt her career.

A psychologist considers whether there is a duty to warn a couple whom the jealous patient has expressed a desire to stalk and frighten.

An adolescent medicine physician considers how to help a potentially suicidal non-minor young adult who declines treatment. Potential options include the possibility of petitioning the court to coerce inpatient treatment.

A psychiatrist considers whether to use a placebo (a fake treatment) on a patient whom the clinician thinks might benefit.

While organ donation is necessary to alleviate suffering and save lives, questions of autonomy, coercion, and the yuk factor deserve careful consideration as we seek to increase supply in the face of unrelenting demand.