Question

21. Consider the following situations. Describe your personal feelings about each and discuss how you could apply the philosophy of individual worth to each scenario. i. A young woman breast-feeds her 2-year-old child while sitting in the waiting room of a clinic. ii. A hospitalized patient tells you that a group from his church is coming to do a "laying on of hands" for him. iii. A patient tells you, "I know why I got this cancer. It's my karma." iv. A 30-year-old man comes to the emergency room complaining of severe abdominal pain. Most of his body is covered with tattoos and he has several body piercings. He informs the staff that he does not have health insurance.

Answer 1

I. My personal feelings in this respect is that mothers should be able to breastfeed in public anytime this was necessary. This is because the nutritional requirements of the baby should take precedence over any other concern. Moreover, this would respect the worth of the baby and the mother.

II. My personal feelings are that, even if I am not religious, I have no right to deny a man access to his faith. Moreover, the laying of hands would not affect him negatively in any way. If I respect his individual worth, I also need to respect his personal beliefs.

III. In this case, while the person has individual worth and his faith should be respected, this belief can jeopardize his health. The patient should be informed of his medical condition, and therefore, the healthcare provider is responsible for ensuring that he understands the reality of the situation.

IV. In this case, the individual worth of the man does not change because he has tattoos or body piercings. Moreover, even if he has no health insurance, he should not be denied emergency care, as this could put his life at risk.

Answer 2

1st question, I think that would be okay, it honestly all depends on you and your beliefs and where you stand. If you don’t approve just tell them you do not approve there is no need for fighting over something that can be solved. If that don’t work just yell for help. That’s invading your privacy! 2nd question, cancer and karma? I don’t think so. Karma has nothing to do with your health issues and what your genetic history is hahaha! 3rd question, I think that just because he has tattoos and percings does not mean that it’s not possible that he cannot have insurance or his heath, maybe he don’t know how to go about so or possibly cannot afford it. Maybe at one point in time he had money but still couldn’t afford it because it is SO expensive!