Christine Mitchell, executive director of the Center and president of the Association of Bioethics Program Directors, discusses hospital ethics committees and their current ethical quandaries regarding technological advances and end-of-life care.
Many states have banned or severely restricted abortion since the Supreme Court overturned Roeon June 24, enacting laws with extremely vague and narrow exceptions for the life of the mother. Health care providers have legitimate concerns that they will face civil and criminal liability if they terminate a pregnancy under any circumstances. They worry that judges, juries, and prosecutors will disagree that the patient had a true medical emergency. And so, the decision shifts from the patient to the hospital, which frequently places these delicate considerations in the hands of ethics committees.