1. Emilija

Our text defines law as “a system of principles and processes by which people in a society deal with disputes and problems, seeking to solve or settle them without resorting to force” (Pozgar, 2023, p. 24). Using the law, allows individuals and organizations to be governed in order to provide liberty and a sense of safety amongst all parties, whether it be public or private law. Even in a biblical context, the Lord provides us with a set of laws, commanding us a set of standards for obedience and all things holy, so that we are exposed to our sinfulness and may turn away from sin. Matthew 22:36-38 says, “Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment” (King James Bible, 1769/2016). We must understand that the Lord’s law is provided to us as a gift of grace, a perfect law, providing us the understanding for the need of Christ’s love, as our human nature is rebellious, sinful, and greedy. Knowing our fleshly desires exists, helps us understand the need for the law. But how does the law tie into ethics?

Law and ethics is like a beautiful tango, without two partners it is just an awkward, structureless dance. In healthcare, healthcare ethics provides healthcare workers a set of values to uphold in order to battle different categories of dilemmas (Pozgar, 2023). These ethical issues are also upheld by different laws in healthcare. Let us examine an example in recent news. Last month, The Department of Justice sought criminal charges against medical business, physicians, and others across the United States for their alleged participation in health care related fraud that exploited the COVID-19 pandemic (Putka, 2023). Fraudulent schemes that occurred include but are not limited to: patients providing their personal identifying information and a human sample which was then used for false claims to Medicare for more expensive testing, obtaining confidential information and then submitting fraudulent claims for lengthy office visits that did not occur, and even laundering of money to shell corporations (Putka, 2023). This is not the first time that the Department of Justice has sought action in regards to Covid-19 frauds, as frauds first started in May of 2021 (Putka, 2023). This is not only a healthcare ethics breach of benefice, also known as doing good, but also a breach of moral character values such as fidelity and veracity (Pozgar, 2023).

The Covid-19 Pandemic is not the first pandemic or crisis to be a breeding ground for fraud, as when panic strikes, our focus is not on compliance but the operations themselves and the fear surrounding the pandemic (Mahanti & Singha, 2022). This means that the use of fraud analytics and common frauds from previous crises such as this one can be used to prevent further fraudulent behavior. Rather than letting our guard down in a time such as this, we need to crack down on policies, procedures, control factors, and even using fraud detection models to prevent further frauds (Mahanti & Singha, 2022). Isaiah 41:10 reminds us of the Lord’s promise, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness” (King James Bible, 1769/2016). We are all reminded of his promise that everything will come to pass and though it may not be the easiest of times, he is there with us every step of the way. This means we shall not break our moral codes because we are fearful but instead lean into him to gain true peace.

References

King James bible. (2016). Thomas Nelson. (Original work published 1769).

Mahanti, R., & Singha (Neogi), M. (2022). covid-19, fraud, and compliance. Edpacs, 65(5), 17-26. https://doi.org0.1080/07366981.2022.2038897Links to an external site.

Pozgar, G. D. (2023). Legal aspects of health care administration. Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Putka, S. (2023, Apr. 21). Doctors, nurses charged in wide-ranging Covid fraud schemes, DOJ says. MedPage Today. https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/featu…

2. Hailey

An ongoing topic within the media is abortion. Within the overruling of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court held that women no longer have a constitutional right to abortion in June of 2022. Moreover, in Dobb v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Court ruled that the issue of abortion will be left entirely to the political process. Overall, each state will determine for itself whether to continue to protect abortion rights or to outlaw some or all abortions.

Identify the ethical issues(s)

The central ethical question in regard to the topic of abortion is the moral state of the fetus. For examples opinion vary on the belief that the fetus is a human being with full moral status and rights from conception to the belief that a fetus has no rights, even if it a human in a biological form. This ethical dilemma dates to ancient Greece through early Christian writers and now to early American contemporary ethicists that show a growing trend of ethical consciousness of respect for human life (Munday, 1989). Adamczyk et al. (2020) noted that, “Among the many predictors and outcomes examined, we show that religion is by far the most utilized statistically significant independent variable, followed by education and income/employment” (p. 920).

Previously there were no laws regarding abortion were enforced in the U.S. until the mid-19th century where Colorado passes the first permissive abortion law, prior to abortion was illegal in all states. Currently, ethical considerations around abortion fall into three parties: Conservative, Liberal, and Moderate. Firstly, within the Conservative party there is opposition to abortion which stems from the thought that the fetus is a human being which has the same rights as any other born human being. Secondly, from the Liberal party there is pro-choice meaning, and the thought process differs from that of the Conservative party. For example, there is no argument around the idea that the fetus is biologically human but there is denial of biological humanity is either sufficient for right of life. Thirdly, for the Moderate party coincides with the Liberal party with the same argument of an early fetus is not a person but this part also agrees with Conservative party that the late-gestation fetus weights some moral concern because it is identical to a born infant. Furthermore, an additional party that is not thought of initially but are significantly affected is within clinicians, an how these laws pose serious legal risks.

Explain How You Would Have Prevented This Situation and Would Now Respond

Personally, I wouldn’t be able to prevent this situation from occurring, as this lies within the state’s authority now. But if I had a choice, I believe that we should allow individuals to make their own decision regarding whether they would like to have an abortion or not. Moreover, when reading literature by Pozgar (2019), the principles of healthcare ethics were introduced, and within these principles, “…assist caregivers in making choices that are based on moral principles that have been identified as standards considered important when addressing ethical dilemmas” (p. 437).

Biblical Integration

A biblical scripture that best suits this week’s topic discussion is shared from, Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born, I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations” (King James Bible, 1769/2017). In this scripture, God formed Jeremiah in the womb, and He set the time of his birth. God purposefully knit him together with the correct elements so that he could be a vessel to endure persecution, hardship, and abuse. Furthermore, God know all about us, He put us together, even when we don’t know or understand what’s going on in our lives, He knows how we work and what we need.

Cited Sources

Adamczyk, A., Kim, C., & Dillon, L (2020). Examining public opinion about abortion: A mixed- method systematic review of research over the last 15 years. Sociological Inquiry, 90(4), p. 920-954. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/soin.12351Links to an external site..

King James Bible. (2017). King James Bible Online. https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.orgLinks to an external site. (Original work published 1769).

Munday, R. (1989). Abortion and america’s ethical consciousness. Health Matrix, 7(2), p. 25–32. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10294676/#:~:text=The%20continuing%20dispute%20over%20legalized,ethical%20views%20of%20human%20lifeLinks to an external site..

Pozgar, G. (2019). Legal aspects of health care administration. Principles of Healthcare Ethics (13th ed.) Jones and Bartlett. https://www.jblearning.com/catalog/productdetails/9781284127171.Links to an external site.

Reingold, R., Gostin, L., & Goodwin, M. (2022) Legal risks and ethical dilemmas for clinicians in the aftermath of Dobbs. JAMA, 328(17), p. 1695–1696. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2797863Links to an external site..