A nurse who is opposed to abortion works in a hospital where abortions are performed. According to the Supreme Court's conscience clause, which action should the nurse take?
1. The nurse should not take action, because the nurse cannot interfere with a woman's constitutional right to privacy.
2. The nurse should voluntarily terminate employment.
3. The nurse should counsel women before they have an abortion.
4. The nurse should refuse to participate in abortions.
Correct Answer: 4
Rationale 1: The nurse cannot interfere with a woman's right to privacy, which includes control over her own body to the extent that she can abort her fetus.
Rationale 2: The conscience clause states that nurses, as well as other health care personnel, have a right to refuse to participate in abortions.
Rationale 3: Counseling a woman prior to an abortion would not be an appropriate action because the nurse has chosen to work in a hospital where these procedures are done.
Rationale 4: In Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, the Supreme Court upheld that a woman's right to privacy includes control over her own body to the extent that she can abort her fetus. Although the nurse cannot interfere with this, the conscience clause states that nurses, as well as other health care personnel, have a right to refuse to participate in abortions and hospitals have the right to deny admission to abortion clients.
You might also like to view...
You are caring for a 63-year-old patient admitted to your unit with a diagnosis of exfoliative dermatitis. The patient is very uncomfortable so you give her a cool bath after premedicating her
After the bath she is dried carefully. To assist her in moving about more freely in bed what is applied? A) Talc B) Cornstarch C) Alum D) Baking soda
The nurse makes practice decisions based upon each patient's unique characteristics, the relationship between the patient and the nurse, and the most humanistic course of action in the particular case circumstance
Which branch of ethics does this reflect? 1. Virtual ethics 2. Duty ethics 3. Utilitarian ethics 4. Situational ethics
What compels nurses to continue learning throughout their careers to avoid becoming laggards?
a. Changes over time regarding knowledge of effective practices b. Desire for publication of new findings c. Increased funding for in-service education attendance d. License renewal requirements
HIV causes AIDS. The acronym HIV stands for
A. Hepatitis infectious virus. B. Human infectious virus. C. Hepatitis immune virus. D. Human immunodeficiency virus.