Question: Comment 1
Also known as the four-principal approach, principalism has four main principles that explain the bioethics. I believe the principles should be ranked as follows.
1. Respect for autonomy- this implies regarding the result for people possess bodies. This implies our patients can choose what treatment they need, and the privilege to reject treatment, solutions or medical procedures (Kizilcec, Schneider, Cohen, & McFarland, 2014).Even though it may not be to the greatest advantage of our patient, it is a choice that must be regarded by all. A case of this is blood transfusions in a Jehovah Witness tolerant. Even though we realize that it can involve last chance, we should regard that our patient rejects the transfusion per religious convictions.
2. Nonmaleficence- the best medical decisions should be made to avoid harming the patient and all the rules and procedures which are laid down professionally. These can be small tasks such as hand hygiene which helps in keeping infections away.
3. Beneficence- depending on the situation at hand, the principle is aimed at improving the condition of the patient.
4. Justice- there should be fairness within patient care, and the treatment and resources should be distributed equally.
The most important thing is the respect for autonomy thus allowing the patient to decide their health care. From the biblical narrative, the principles will follow one another in the following manner; creation, fall, redemption, and restoration (Reyes, & Castillo, 2017).This is because God permitting is to be on this planet, and picking amongst good and bad. Even though he may not concur with our choice, he enables us to choose what way we will take throughout everyday life.
Comment 2:
Similar to how the U.S. has placed the respect for autonomy as the highest of the four principles, I too rank autonomy as the most important biomedical ethics principle. I believe that first and foremost, what happens to the body of an individual is the decision of that individual, assuming that those decisions do not cause harm to anyone else.
I rank nonmaleficence as my second most important principle of ethics because I don't believe anyone should intentionally cause harm to others.
The ranking of the last two principles, for me, is slightly less clear. Beneficence and justice are tied in third. When I see the term "prevent" as in prevent harm, I want to rank beneficence higher on my list, but I need further consideration. In consideration of justice, the fair distribution of benefits is of extreme importance and is no small issue. It is of huge importance, but it is not what I think of when I initially think of ethics.
In relation to the Christian biblical narrative, I believe the order of importance for the principles would be: beneficence, justice, nonmaleficence, and respect for autonomy. I believe this would be the order because in the beginning, God provided benefits that were balanced and distributed fairly to all (beneficence and justice). This resulted in Shalom, a peaceful and orderly state. Nonmaleficence I believe would be ranked third because we were (are) not to cause harm to others. Finally, I believe respect for autonomy would be last in the Christian biblical narrative because all living things had what they needed, and they believed and trusted in God to provide all their needs.