Ethics in Obstetric Ultrasound: The Past 25 Years in Perspective

JOURNAL TITLE: Donald School Journal of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology

Author
1. Laurence B McCullough
2. Frank A Chervenak
ISSN
0973-614X
DOI
10.5005/jp-journals-10009-1181
Volume
5
Issue
2
Publishing Year
2011
Pages
6
Author Affiliations
    1. Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
    1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Weill Medical College, Cornell University, New York, USA
  • Article keywords
    Ethics, Fetus as a patient, Beneficence, Respect for autonomy

    Abstract

    Ethics is an essential component of obstetric ultrasound, an area in which the authors have collaborated for the past 25 years. The authors describe their collaboration. They then present one of the core ethical concepts of obstetric ultrasound: The ethical concept of the fetus as a patient. Next, they present one of the clearest clinical applications of ethics to obstetric ultrasound: Autonomy-enhancing strategies. The authors hope that these two paradigms will convince the reader that ethics is an essential dimension of obstetric ultrasound and stimulate further interest.

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