FORENSIC MEDICINE AND MEDICOLEGAL

ETHICAL DELIMA

NAMA: ARISMAN WENGE ABDUL RAHMAN

NIM: C111 08 805
CLASS: INTERNATIONAL

HASANUDDIN UNIVERSITY
MEDICAL FACULTY
2010
 Ethical Dilemma (1)

A young teenage mother who was a victim of rape came to the hospital for an abortion.

1. What will you do?

Try to discuss carefully and give whole explanation to her about the complication of
abortion, included the law about abortion, and better ask she to bring her parent to
come and meet me, after that she can make decision either she still want to do
abortion or not.

2. What moral principles?

Beneficence and autonomy and non-maleficence.

The abortion was performed but the abortus was alive.

1. What will you do?

Cancel to performed the abortion and give explanation to her about what the
consequences that they will get, follow the KUHP Pasal 346 and Pasal 349.

2. What moral principles?

Justice and beneficence.

 Ethical Dilemma (2)

A patient is admitted into hospital in coma and requires resuscitation and respirator and
ICU care.

1. What will you do?

Give the emergency treatment first to resuscitate and make the examination eg
blood test to find the causes of coma.

2. What moral principles?

Beneficence and non-maleficence.

The patient is moved into the ICU, but it soon becomes clear his liver is completely
damaged. The cause of his liver failure was chronic alcoholism.

1. What do you do?

Give the management, convulsive treatment but beware to sepsis, hypoglycaemia

and encephalopathy. Find his family members to get the informed consent in order
to do the surgery with hepatectomy.

2. What ethical principles?

Non-maleficence, beneficence, and autonomy.

His family begs you to keep him alive by whatever means. A victim of a car accident has
just arrived at the hospital and needs an ICU bed. There are no more ICU beds available.

1. What do you do?

Explain to his family that we will try for our best to save his son and tell them that to
put his son life is not from the doctor but God the only one can determine whether
his son alive or not. Make it clear to them. If no more ICU beds available, just use the
another beds for resuscitates first and after that I will transfer him to another
hospital to follow up and give the therapy with the agreement to his family first.

2. What moral principles?

Non-maleficence and beneficence and justice.

The son of a colleague has come forward to offer part of his liver for a live donor
transplant.

1. What would you do?

Tell him or his family that even though they want to donor the liver in order to save
his son, but they have to know that in hospital, there already have the waiting list for
donation of organ, so they have to follow the order.

2. What moral principles?

Justice

The victim of traffic accident dies, the family has agreed to donate his liver. There are
however others on the waiting list. The causes of their liver failure were due to allergies to
medication given by doctors.

1. What would you do?

Explain to the family about the causes of liver failure and we must do emergency
surgery or transplantation to him.

2. What moral principles?

Non-maleficence and beneficence.