Week 7 Scenario and Reflection
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Week 7 Scenario and Reflection
Paula Hernandez
West Coast University
PHIL 434: Medical Ethics and Issues
Lucas Ulrich
March 10, 2024
In this scenario, a debate
between Dr. Catherine Williams and Dr. Robin Meadows focuses on the topic of the HIV/AIDS situation in Africa. Because of the extremely high incidence rate of HIV and AIDS in Africa, the moderator poses the question, “what immediate course or courses of action should we take to
slow the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa?” (Tosh, n.d.). Dr. Williams posits that mandatory testing should be required as the
situation in Africa presents “no practical way to stop the spread of
HIV/AIDS” (Tosh, n.d.). Dr. Meadows disagrees,
stating that “mandatory HIV testing would have disastrous consequences for a person whose
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results are disclosed publicly” (Tosh, n.d.). While both agree that condom use would be a deterrent, the religious views present in African countries stigmatize their
use, and the doctors disagree on the true effectiveness of condom distribution centers.
The issue of HIV/AIDS in Africa is the subject of a discussion between Drs. Robin Meadows and Catherine Williams in this scenario. The moderator asks, "What immediate course or courses
of action should we take to slow the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa?" considering the regions’ super high cases of HIV and AIDS (Ulrich, n.d.). As Dr. Williams mentioned, there is "no practical way to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS" in Africa, so getting checked should be a requisite (Ulrich, n.d.). Counter to popular belief, Dr. Robin asserts saying"mandatory HIV
testing would have disastrous consequences for a person whose results are disclosed publicly" (Ulrich, n.d.).
Given all of the options given till the end of the presentation, my own position mostly corresponds with option D, which says: “Dr. Williams is right. Testing is too important to ignore.
Keeping testing voluntary will mean that the people who need to be tested the most will avoid being tested out of fear of the stigma associated with the disease. Some things come at a price, and mandatory testing is the price we must pay to ensure a healthier population moving forward.” (Ulrich, n.d.). Even though it's crucial understanding that Meadows has honest worries, I believe that Dr. Williams' argument about how many people die in Africa outweighs the issue of required vs. optional testing. As Catherine stated "what good are policies if people are still dying in such huge numbers. I agree that education and condoms can be parts of the solution, but the tests must be done” (Ulrich, n.d.). Dr. William continues with additional data demonstrating that the problem is to blame for Zambia's current extremely low life expectancy of
33 years globally (Ulrich, n.d.).
I find myself very interested toward the laws that cover Americans' healthcare data since Dr. Meadows' concerns are how people can are scared to lose their right to privacy and may be called out. HIPAA, or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, is one that immediately know who can cover individuals right away. Pence claims that HIPAA protects "patient privacy of medical records" (Pence, 2017). I can understand why people will want to maintain privacy by saying it is optional, but given the severe public health condition that the people of Africa are facing, actions have to be taken more seriosuly.
Pence, G. E. (2017). Medical ethics: accounts of ground-breaking cases. 8
th
ed. Mcgraw Hill Education.
Pence, G. E. (2017). Medical ethics: accounts of ground-breaking cases. 8
th
ed. Mcgraw Hill Education.
Pence, G. E. (2017). Medical ethics: accounts of ground-breaking cases. 8th ed. Mcgraw Hill Education.
Tosh, N. (n.d.) Annual ethics symposium: Public Health and HIV/AIDS [Video].
Canvas@WCU. https://canvas.westcoastuniversity.edu/
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