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Key Cases & Events in Medical EthicsEthics of Experimentation Twenty Nazi physicians and three medical
administrators are charged with "murders, tortures and other atrocities
committed in the name of medical science." DNA - The Secret of Life The scientific magazine Nature
publishes a one-page paper entitled "The molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids"
by James D. Watson and Francis H. Crick, laying out the biochemical structure
and function of DNA. Renal Transplantation Dr. Joseph E. Murray sutured a kidney
excised from a 24 year-old man into his identical twin at Peter Bent Brigham
Hospital in Boston. The recipient lived for eight more years, eventually dying
of coronary artery disease. Murray's bold surgery inaugurated the era of major
organ transplantation. Chronic Hemodialysis, Seattle Dialysis Selection
Committee Clyde Shields, a 39 year-old machinist
dying of kidney failure, is the first patient to be connected to a hemodialysis
machine. Oral Contraceptive The U.S. Food and Drug Administration
approves the first effective oral contraceptive. Heart Transplantation South African Surgeon Christiaan Bernard
takes a beating heart from Denise Darvall, a car accident victim, an places it
in the chest of 55 year-old Louis Washkansky. Washkansky dies 18 days
later. Definition of Death Harvard Medical School committee proposes
"brain death" as the definition of death. Informed Patients Theologian Paul Ramsey publishes The
Patient as Person after spending a year in Georgetown University Hospital,
leading to the recognition of the need for informed consent. The Tuskegee Revelations A story in the The New York Times reports
that during a 40 year study on the effects of syphilis conducted in Tuskegee,
Alabama, African-American men were not given treatment so the effects of the
disease could be observed. Roe v. Wade The U.S. Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade
holds that state law cannot restrict the right of a woman, in accord with her
doctor, to obtain an abortion during the first trimester of pregnancy,
justifying its ruling under the right of privacy implied in the Bill of
Rights. Karen Ann Quinlan Courts grant the parents of Karen Ann
Quinlan, a 21 year-old New Jersey woman who became comatose after ingesting
alcohol and barbiturates, the right to remove her from life support. Louis Joy Brown The first test-tube baby is born. Fetal Tissue Ruling The Reagan Administration bans
experiments using fetal tissue. Baby Doe Parents of a Bloomington, Indiana baby
with Down's syndrome decline surgery to correct a blocked intestine, leading to
the baby's death. Reagan Administration establishes "Baby Doe" regulations for
newborn intensive care units. Artificial Heart Implanted Seattle dentist Barney Clark is kept
alive on an artificial heart at the University of Utah's Health Sciences
Center. The AIDS Epidemic Newsweek magazine publishes first
public discussion of AIDS. Baby Fae A baboon heart is transplanted into
newborn Baby Fae in Loma Linda, California. She dies a few days later. The Baby M The Baby M surrogate-mother case blurs
the definition of parenthood, morally and legally. Funding Priorities Oregon passes a law giving funding
priority to basic health care rather than expensive technological treatments
such as transplants. Right to Die The parents of Nancy Cruzan, an adult
comatose woman, request removal of her feeding tube. The U.S. Supreme Court
rules that others can decide on behalf of a presently incompetent patient, but
that states can decide what level of evidance is necessary to substantiate a
decision based on patient preference. Missouri chooses the standard of "clear
and convincing evidence". As additional evidence of Nancy's preference emerges
the prosecution drops the case; Cruzan is allowed to die. Death with Dignity Act Oregon's law allows physicians to
prescribe enough medication to hasten the death of a terminally ill patient at
his or her request. Hello Dolly, Dolly Dolly the sheep is cloned in England. Embryonic Cells Research of stem sells from an intact
embryo spawns debate about the embryo. The Human Genome Scientists complete a rough draft of the
human genome sequence, calling it a "glimpse into the instruction book" that
makes us human. |
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