Consider the following case: Infant Charlie Gard was born in Great Britain on August 4, 2016, with a rare, inherited, an
Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2022 5:19 am
Consider the following case:
Infant Charlie Gard was born in Great Britain on August 4, 2016,
with a rare, inherited, and fatal condition called
enecphalomyopathic mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome (MDDS). A
legal battle ensured among Charlie's parents, the Great Ormond
Street Hospital in London, and the British court system when the
Grades wanted to take their infant to the United States of America
for a noninvasive experimental treatment. The fight was publicized
worldwide a U.S. physician agreed to accept Charlie. Though
Charlie's parents raised money for the treatment the case stalled
so long in the court system that Charlie's condition deteriorated
to the point that his parents gave up their fight. Charlie died on
July 28, 2017 in hospice care.
The central ethical issue in this case is:
CHOOSE 1
a. What, if any, are the limits on parent decision-making
authority?
b. Can the continued treatment of an infant be considered
futile?
c. Which ethics committee, the one at the Great Ormond Street
Hospital or the perspective of the ethics committee at the U.S.
hospital considering accepting Charlie, is valid?
d. How might the principles of bioethics be applied to this
case?
Infant Charlie Gard was born in Great Britain on August 4, 2016,
with a rare, inherited, and fatal condition called
enecphalomyopathic mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome (MDDS). A
legal battle ensured among Charlie's parents, the Great Ormond
Street Hospital in London, and the British court system when the
Grades wanted to take their infant to the United States of America
for a noninvasive experimental treatment. The fight was publicized
worldwide a U.S. physician agreed to accept Charlie. Though
Charlie's parents raised money for the treatment the case stalled
so long in the court system that Charlie's condition deteriorated
to the point that his parents gave up their fight. Charlie died on
July 28, 2017 in hospice care.
The central ethical issue in this case is:
CHOOSE 1
a. What, if any, are the limits on parent decision-making
authority?
b. Can the continued treatment of an infant be considered
futile?
c. Which ethics committee, the one at the Great Ormond Street
Hospital or the perspective of the ethics committee at the U.S.
hospital considering accepting Charlie, is valid?
d. How might the principles of bioethics be applied to this
case?