Biomaterial Database

Two worlds apart: religion and ethics. 1998

J Savulescu

Murdoch Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

In a recent article entitled, Requests "for inappropriate" treatment based on religious beliefs, Orr and Genesen claim that futile treatment should be provided to patients who request it if their request is based on a religious belief. I claim that this implies that we should also accede to requests for harmful or cost-ineffective treatments based on religious beliefs. This special treatment of religious requests is an example of special pleading on the part of theists and morally objectionable discrimination against atheists. It also provides an excellent illustration of how different the practices of religion and ethics are.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D010342	Patient Acceptance of Health Care	Patients' willingness to receive health care.	Acceptability of Health Care,Health Care Seeking Behavior,Acceptability of Healthcare,Acceptors of Health Care,Health Care Utilization,Nonacceptors of Health Care,Patient Acceptance of Healthcare,Care Acceptor, Health,Care Acceptors, Health,Care Nonacceptor, Health,Care Nonacceptors, Health,Health Care Acceptability,Health Care Acceptor,Health Care Acceptors,Health Care Nonacceptor,Health Care Nonacceptors,Healthcare Acceptabilities,Healthcare Acceptability,Healthcare Patient Acceptance,Healthcare Patient Acceptances,Utilization, Health Care
D010819	Physician's Role	The expected function of a member of the medical profession.	Physicians' Role,Physician Role,Physician's Roles,Physicians Role,Physicians' Roles,Role, Physician's,Role, Physicians',Roles, Physician's,Roles, Physicians'
D011287	Prejudice	A preconceived judgment made without factual basis.	Anti-Semitism,Islamophobia,Anti Semitism,Anti-Semitisms,Islamophobias,Prejudices
D012068	Religion and Medicine	The interrelationship of medicine and religion.	Religiosity Coping,Spiritual Coping,Medicine and Religion,Coping, Religiosity,Coping, Spiritual,Religiosity Copings
D012069	Religion and Psychology	The interrelationship of psychology and religion.	Psychology and Religion,Psychology, Religion,Religion, Psychology
D003657	Decision Making	The process of making a selective intellectual judgment when presented with several complex alternatives consisting of several variables, and usually defining a course of action or an idea.	Credit Assignment,Assignment, Credit,Assignments, Credit,Credit Assignments
D004992	Ethics, Medical	The principles of professional conduct concerning the rights and duties of the physician, relations with patients and fellow practitioners, as well as actions of the physician in patient care and interpersonal relations with patient families.	Medical Ethics
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D012945	Social Values	Abstract standards or empirical variables in social life which are believed to be important and/or desirable.	Value Orientation,Values, Social,Value Orientations
D018864	Cultural Diversity	Coexistence of numerous distinct ethnic, racial, religious, or cultural groups within one social unit, organization, or population. (From American Heritage Dictionary, 2d college ed., 1982, p955)	Multiculturalism,Pluralism,Cultural Pluralism,Cultural Diversities,Diversities, Cultural,Diversity, Cultural,Multiculturalisms,Pluralism, Cultural,Pluralisms