c. Hospital-Initiated Suits. Patient-initiated lawsuits against hospitals,
physicians, and nurses for alleged harm suffered through wrongful conduct get the most
publicity. But, hospital-initiated lawsuits also come before the courts. Hospitals go to
court to challenge decisions by governmental agencies and departments, such as the
Department of Health and Human Services, which administers much of the law
pertaining to hospitals. (Other departments also affect various other aspects of hospital
affairs. The Department of Labor enforces the laws relating to wages and hours of
employment, for example.) Hospitals also resort to courts to have legislation
concerning hospitals declared invalid, to collect unpaid hospital bills, and to enforce
contracts. While litigation brought by patients or government gets the most publicity;
very often, it is the hospital that initiates a suit to enforce a right or to protect a legally
recognized interest.
d. Lesson Scope. This lesson will give you a general idea about the nature and
sources of the law and the way in which the law ties into ethics.
BIOETHICAL/LEGAL ISSUES IN THE NEWS
QUALITY OF LIFE
Medical ethicists and physicians question the wisdom of the Baby Doe laws, requiring
maximal, life-prolonging treatment of severely handicapped, premature infants. No
guidance exists on when to stop treatment that can save lives. The lack of guidance
presents a problem. The very treatment that can save lives can, at the same time,
cause serious lifelong problems (handicaps such as blindness, cerebral palsy, and other
neurological disorders). In Europe, public health policy provides such guidelines.2
FETAL RIGHTS
After failed attempts to locate a bone marrow donor for their 17-year-old daughter
suffering from leukemia, a Los Angeles couple purposely conceived a child to serve as
a donor. (While it has been done before, this is the first time that the parents chose to
speak openly about it.) The ethical concern here is protecting the rights of the fetus.
What it tests revealed the baby was not a suitable donor? What if the parents aborted
the fetus in order to retry? Should an outside legal guardian serve as an advocate for
the infant in such cases? The infant, in this case, turned out to be a suitable donor.3
(Continued)
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