Ethics-Governance: Article: eMJA: The ethics of clinical ethics services

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eMJA: The ethics of clinical ethics services Expressly or by implication, the article points to many difficulties and pitfalls of such services, and certainly raises more questions than it answers. But, in doing so, it reflects a necessary and valid function of ethics services: to help those who should make the decisions ask as many of the “right” (ie, ethically relevant) questions as possible. It is not the function of ethics services to make those decisions. The authors make some important points. Variability in decisions or failure to reach consensus does not mean ethics consultations are pointless — it is as important to highlight moral differences as to resolve them. When conducted well, clinical ethics services can be a valuable hospital resource and a powerful, critical voice contributing to ethical practice. “Doing ethics” is an exercise of power, and power must be exercised ethically. But simply a desire to do good is not sufficient to ensure that. Our goal of doing good can blind us to the harm that is also unavoidably inflicted, and sometimes that infliction is unethical. Full Article: http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/181_04_160804/som10246_fm.html


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