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Biomedical subjects

M Lappé

Publications and source records attributed to M Lappé.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Ethical issues in manipulating the human germ line.

This essay examines the arguments for and against working towards the objective of human germ line engineering for medical purposes. Germ line changes which result as a secondary consequence of other well designed and ethically acceptable manipulations of somatic cells to cure an otherwise fatal disease can be seen as acceptable. More serious objections apply to intentional germ line interventions because of the unacceptability of using a person solely as a vehicle for creating uncertain genetic change in his descendants. It is also morally unacceptable to use the promise of future benefit to experiment on fetuses or embryos when other more effective technologies exist to help parents have healthy children. Using new genetic technologies to select desirable genotypes among gametes is less problematic and affords a promising new technique for avoiding intergenerational harms.

Double Effect Principle↗
PubMed1988

Ethical issues in genetic screening for susceptibility to chronic lung disease.

The extent, severity, and irreversible nature of chronic lung disorders associated with occupation dictate careful review of any potentially mitigating measure. A genetic predisposition to lung injury is known to occur in the small percentage of individuals who are homozygous for alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency, a defect in the protein needed for inactivating proteolytic enzymes released after lung injury. It was found that the contribution of homozygous affected individuals to the total population at risk for chronic lung disease is too small (0.5% to 2.0%) to warrant screening. Screening could be justified if the more prevalent heterozygous AAT-deficient individuals were also at greater risk. A literature review demonstrated that up to 27.2% of persons of Spanish and 12.3% of Anglo-Saxon heritage but virtually no blacks or persons of Eastern origin are heterozygous for AAT alleles. Some heterozygous phenotypes are statistically overrepresented in hospitalized populations and among workers with impaired lung function, suggesting that they are statistically at slightly greater risk for developing lung disease than are homozygous normal individuals. These data suggest that a screen for AAT carriers would be marginally acceptable scientifically, but would pose ethical questions of discrimination and equity in use of disease-detecting resources. Review of ethical criteria for screening, particularly the availability of experimental therapies, increases the cogency and reinforces the acceptability of performing occupational tests for both homozygous and heterozygous AAT-deficient persons. Currently, programs directed at early detection of symptomatic workers coupled with reduction or elimination of offending agents are scientifically and ethically more warranted than full-scale genetic screening for AAT deficiency.

Disease Susceptibility↗
PubMed1983

Ethical issues in testing for differential sensitivity to occupational hazards.

This study examines the ethical aspects of designing preventive health strategies in the workplace that rely on biochemical indexes of worker susceptibility. It analyzes the benefits and risks of this type of occupational testing, and stresses the desirability of guidelines for the use of hypersusceptibility testing in preemployment screening. The primary value of using such programs to identify previously unsuspected hazards in working environments is underscored. The report proposes elements for effective guidelines that can permit the orderly development of hypersusceptibility tests. Further study is needed to validate these technologies; to review the legal elements of consent and disclosure requirements; to assure continuation of equal employment opportunity; to provide legally enforceable protections of workers as research subjects; and to identify the extent, if any, of possible social and psychological harms imposed by such testing.

Beneficence↗
PubMed1978

Dying while living: a critique of allowing-to-die legislation.

Several US states are enacting 'right-to-die' laws, in the wake of the Karen Quinlan case. But the way such a law is drafted may cast doubt on a patient's existing common law right to control all aspects of his own treatment; it may give legal sanction to a lower standard of medical care that society at present expects from doctors; and it may lead to conflict between the patient's directive and his doctor's clinical judgement which cannot readily be resolved. The laws themselves are categorised as a) legalising active killing or b) defining rights of patients to control treatment or c) assigning to others the rights to control treatment where the patient is not competent. The California law is discussed critically. The conclusion is that such legislation is not a satisfactory answer to the ethical problem of euthanasia.

Adult↗