Ethics Committees and Social Issues: Potentials and Pitfalls

Abstract

...[W]e are now seeing the flowering of what is an important movement in the field of bioethics: the interplay of ethics committees and broader societal issues. The role of ethics committees in their home institution has been well defined over the past decade. What needs to be explored now is the wider range of issues that really begin outside of the hospital but whose impact is felt internally. There are some issues that inherently arise within the hospital setting, such as when a committee consultation is required for a difficult decision about patient care. Other problems, however, are much less under the hospital's control. Nevertheless, hospitals have to live with these problems, and the decision-making process taking place within the hospital will have to take account of the fact that even though the problem originates elsewhere, there are undeniable internal consequences....