Should Informed Consent be required for Genetic Testing on Newborns? The Dilemma Should informed consent be required for genetic testing on newborns? Informed consent is defined as “voluntary agreement given by a person or a patients’ responsible proxy (for example, a parent) for participation in a study, immunization program, treatment regimen, invasive procedure, etc., after being informed of the purpose, methods, procedures, benefits, and risks”. (Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary, 2012) With few exceptions every child born in the United States has a mandatory Newborn Blood Screening (NBS) done within the first forty-eight hours of life. There is no requirement to communicate with parents about the screening test, and/or to ask for permission …show more content…
Parents at very least deserve to be informed of medical procedures performed on their child and the possible results from said procedures. There is no other medical procedure where informed consent is not required prior to taking place. People may refuse, but at the very least they are given the information with that right. The mandatory function of NBS combined with the requirement to have information without any requirement to distribute that information has caused a lack in people knowing anything about the tests that are being performed. In 2009, the Consumer Task Force on Newborn Screening of the Genetic Alliance, a consumer advocacy organization, conducted a survey of 2,266 women age 18-45 regarding their attitudes on various issues relevant to newborn screening. Two conclusions were made by this study; first these women need and want more information about newborn screening and second, they want this information before their baby is born (Anderson, Rebecca, Rothwell, & Botkin,
In modern society, most depend on the opinion of a trained healthcare professional to ensure a solution to an issue. But what does one do when the patient has no understanding of the potential harm and side effects caused? Henrietta Lacks, a black woman of low social status, faced the trials of cervical cancer without providing informed consent, or the “legal rules that prescribe behaviors for physicians and other healthcare professionals.” If Lacks had not been a crusader in informed consent, then the legacy of patient awareness would not exist today. Lacks’ story takes place in Baltimore, Maryland when she checks into Johns Hopkins Hospital, to address a pain in her lower abdomen.
The sexual offender registration and notification act, also known as Megan’s Law, was enacted in 1995 by Pennsylivania Governor Tom Ridge. Megan Kanka was a seven year-old girl that resided in Hamilton Township, New Jersey, with her family. On Friday, July 29, 1994, Kanka was raped and murdered by their 33 year old neighbor, Jesse Timmendequas. Timmendequas had two prior convictions of attempted sexual assault on five and seven year old girls. He lured Kanka into his house by offering to show her a puppy.
In the study “Assessing the quality of informed consent in a resource-limited setting: A cross-sectional study,” researchers investigated the process of obtaining informed consent in clinical and public health research. The method of the study utilized interviews, in which research participants were asked a series of questions after they had been through informed consent procedures. 600 participants were interviewed, and the results show that 5.9% believed that they were not given enough information before deciding to participate. Only 5.7% of the participants said that they had not signed a consent form before making the decision to participate. Interestingly, 33.7% reported that they were not aware of their power to withdraw from participation
Megan's Law is a controversial law that requires sex offenders to register with law enforcement authorities upon their release from prison. The law was enacted in response to the sexual assault and murder of 7-year-old Megan Kanka by a neighbor who had twice been convicted of similar sex offenses and was on parole. The law requires offenders to provide their name, photograph, physical description, list of offenses, current address, place of employment or school, and automobile license plate number. In terms of the ideal characteristics of criminal law, Megan's Law can be seen as a positive step towards protecting public safety. The law aims to prevent future crimes by providing the public with information about convicted sex offenders in their
The Health Care Consent Act (HCCA) sets out explicit rules and specifies when consent is required and who can give the consent when the client is incapable of doing so (College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO), 2009). According to the HCCA (1996), there is no minimum age for providing or refusing consent in Ontario. A person is capable if he or she understands the information given that is relevant to making a decision concerning the treatment, and can appreciate the anticipated consequences of both accepting or declining a treatment. (Keatings
Faden and Beauchamp discuss two definitions of informed consent, which are labeled sense1 and sense2. First, sense1 informed consent is defined as “autonomous authorization”. (Vaughn, p. 191). The key aspect of sense1 is that the patient has the autonomy to consent, or refuse consent. Faden and Beauchamp state four defining characteristics of sense1 informed consent: complete understanding of the consent, individual desire for the consent, intent to consent, and authorizing consent.
For instance, the practitioners are obligated to constantly inform the participants about plans that pertains to interventions (Reamer, 1987). In addition, it is essential for informed consent to include the following: “What is done, the reasons for doing it, clients must be capable of providing consent, they must have the right to refuse or withdraw consent, and their decisions must be based on adequate information” (Kirk & Wakefield, 1997, p. 275). One of the most dehumanizing incidents that occur is the researchers prohibit the participants’ self-determination. For example, the men were compliant with receiving treatment and to be examined by the physicians.
Megan Kanka was seven-years-old when she was brutally raped and murdered by a neighbor Jesse Timmendequas on December 7, 1986. Prior to killing Megan Kanke, Jesse Timmendequas was convicted of sexually assaulting two young girls and sentenced to prison (Glaberson, 1996). Upon his release from prison, Jesse moved into the neighborhood where Megan lived with her family, Jesse lured Megan to his home where he brutally raped and murdered her (Glaberson, 1996). This horrific case is what lead to the enactment of Megan’s Law which was first signed into law in 1996. Megan’s Law was an amendment to the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act of 1994 (National Alert Registry, n.d.).
They were not educated so when the doctor would say something scientific they would trust every word while not even understanding what he was saying. This part of informed consent was stressed throughout the book because in today’s society most people have enough education to have a general idea what is going on when they are at the hospital about to have a procedure done, making it seem
Can an image tell us everything we want to know about what happened? Why or why not? An image can not tell us everything we want to know about what happened. The images can be changed or altered by a editor during and after a person is having an interview for example or even a picture with photoshop.
The doctors failed to use a properly consenting patient, neglected Charlie’s emotional state, and failed to conduct proper research. If Charlie had a caretaker who could give consent on his behalf, similar to a minor, an operation of this sort could be ethical. Moreover, it could be ethical if the doctors’ research and further develop their theory before using a human test subject, and pay close attention to Charlie’s emotional and mental health. However, Charlie’s operation was performed without these precautions and guidelines, and he suffers greatly in the
Participation Portfolio 1 Asst 3: Henrietta Lacks Discussion Questions Please answers each of the following questions, and be prepared to discuss in class 1. Please outline the history of Henrietta Lacks 's tissue cells. Who did what with the cells, when, where and for what purpose? Who benefited, scientifically, medically, and monetarily?
INFROMED CONSENT ARE PATIENTS TRULY INFORMED??? Informed consent gives a competent patient the freewill to make his decisions about his health after getting informed adequately about the procedure, its alternatives, pros &cons and uncertainties related the procedure and its alternatives. Above all the patient’s consent must be voluntary and without any kind of pressure whatsoever. There are few fundamental question
Public Health England (2017) states that “Consent to treatment is the principle that a person must give permission before they receive any type of medical treatment, test or examination. This must be done on the basis of an explanation by a clinician”. Selinger (2009) also mentions that patient consent in required regardless of the procedure whether physical or something else as the consent principle is an important part of medical ethics and the international human rights. For example Mr Eric was asked several times and given time to think about the procedure which was going to take place and who was going to do it and the procedure was clearly explained to him to make an informed decision. British Journal of Medical Practitioners (Bjmp) (2017) recommends that consent must be voluntary, valid and informed, and the person consenting must have the capacity to make the decision.
As the parents of the child, the parents would seek to act for what is best for the child. When a child does not want a vaccination or to go to the dentist, the child refuses. However, the parents still force the child to receive the vaccination and go to the dentist because there are beneficial effects that come from the small amount of pain they will experience. A parent’s consent for a bone marrow donation of a potential child stems from similar reasoning. Even though the child will experience pain, Anissa’s life will potentially be saved by the donation and a greater good will be achieved.