It’s imperative that the four principles of biomedical ethics be interpreted individually as they may apply differently for many situations. All patients hold the right to make an informed decision regarding their health regardless of the outcome it may provide. Hoehner (2022) describes that patients must meet three conditions that require someone to make an informed decision: intention, understanding, and freedom. Nonmaleficence is a standard commonly used in the Hippocratic Oath that implicates refrain from harming others (Hoehner, 2022). With beneficence, patients must have the benefits outweighing the risks in order to provide the greatest positive result (Hoehner, 2022). Lastly, justice, is the general consensus of having a merited action provided in fairness and impartiality (Hoehner, 2022).
In my personal opinion, it’s quite certain that people must be left to make whatever decision best resides within their own being. We cannot force people to do things for which they do not consent for. Therefore, personally, autonomy should be first in the list of importance of ranking biomedical ethics. In Iran, an adoption of a code of ethics was instituted for blood donation and transfusion in order for the assurance to the public that the blood donated was in good faith, delivered safely, and collected properly (Asghari et al., 2019). One of the main focuses of the Iran code of ethics for blood supply was the respect of the volunteer/donor rights (Asghari et al., 2019). Justice would be second in ranking. Patients want to be treated fairly versus unjust and morally discriminated. Beneficence would come third, followed by nonmaleficence because patients should be benefiting from the treatment and nonmaleficence seems a bit common sense however, patients are harmed by nurses and from the side effects of medications all the time.
Asghari, A., Pourfathollah, A., Abbasi, M., Mohammadi, T., & Akrami, F. (2019). Adoption of Iran’s code of ethics for blood donation and transfusion as a public health policy. Journal of Medical Ethics & History of Medicine, 12(1), 1–16.
Hoehner, P.J. (2022). Biomedical ethics in the Christian narrative. (In Practicing Dignity: An introduction to Christian values and decision-making in health care. URL: Grand Canyon University – Digital Resources (gcumedia.com)
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