- 期刊
The Role of Religion and Culture in Clinical Ethics Consultation
宗教及文化在臨床醫學倫理諮詢中的角色
並列摘要
This paper discusses the role a patient's religion and culture should play in analysing and discussing ethical issues in clinical ethics consultation in a multi-cultural environment. The first part of the paper presents a case of a family requesting a specific, normally very minor non-clinical procedure to be performed on an elderly patient with severe dementia as part of the preparation for a very significant religious festival. This had been done the two preceding years but staff was now unwilling to perform the procedure because the patient had become agitated when it was performed a year ago. The case was therefore brought to the clinical ethics committee (CEC) which had to consider two issues: 1. Should the procedure be performed by the staff? 2. If not, should staff allow relatives to perform the procedure? Based on this case the paper will then discuss: 1. Does it matter whether the procedure is required by religion or culture? a. Can a clear distinction be drawn between religion and culture? 2. Does it matter what view the majority culture has on this procedure? 3. Does the patient's own previously held views matter and why? I will argue that the distinction between religion and culture or between what is required by religion and what is ”merely” cultural is in most cases spurious and drawn primarily to either valorise or devalue a certain practice.