Iranian Journal of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine
Year:2016 | Volume:9 | Issue:4|Papers Count:7

Self-defence is everyone’s right. Based on this right, one can defend himself against any eminent threat, even if it cause the predator’s death. This ethical principle is an applicable principle in ethics in war. However, the principle of self-defence has been applied in other situation such as justification of abortion if mother’s life is threatened by her fetus. Judith Thompson is a philosopher who defend abortion by applying this principle, in her book, “ A Defence of Abortion” Thompson categorized pregnancy into two types, wanted and unwanted pregnancy, argues that abortion is justified in wanted pregnancy if mother’s life is endanger. She also discusses the involvement of a third party in performing abortion. However, her argument has been criticised by her proponents as well as opponent. This article examines the principle of self-defence and its application in justifying abortion as well as the involvement of a third party in Thompson’s perspective.

Physician-assisted suicide is an important, challenging issue in medical ethics, which the right to die is a central point in this issue. Physician-assisted suicide is offered to end intolerable pain and suffering. Although, it is a legal practice in some countries, still it is a challenging and controversial practice in ethical and legal perspectives. It has been argued that based on the principles of medical ethics, physicians should respect patient’s decision, however many ethicists and jurists believe that Physician-assisted suicide is unethical. It should be noted that the main reason for proponents and opponents is based on their interpretation about human dignity. This controversy can be resolved by reference to religious interpretation of human dignity in which asserts that Physician-assisted suicide is against human dignity and respect for human life.

The invasion of Iran by Mongols in 1217 AD had a profound impact on different aspects of social life, in which some aspects still exist and are undeniable.One of these aspects is Mongol’s folk medicine. A review of Iranian folk medicine in Qajar period shows how medicine in this period which was a mixture of oral culture and religious beliefs was influenced by Mongol’s folk medicine.By comparing Mongol’s medicine and Iranian traditional medicine in Qajar period, this article elaborates on how Iranian traditional medicine was influenced by Mongols.

Reproduction and fertility are considered a substantial need for the survival of the human race and has seen its ups and downs. Advances in Assisted Reproductive Technology (ARTs) have brought some changes as well as challenge in human reproduction. For instance, involvement of a third-party in pregnancy has become a challenging practice. Given the rapid application of ARTs in Iran, obscure aspects and consequences associated with this technology need to be elaborated. The present study aimed at investigating the identity and rights of children resulting from ARTs based on the existing laws and the opinions of the contemporary Shi’ite Grand Ayatollahs. First, by reviewing the sources of Islamic law as well as searching the legal and reliable electronic resources -using key terms such as parentage, guardianship, embryo donation and infertility- the existing laws and regulations about ARTs have been analyzed. Then, by a qualitative method, written opinions of some contemporary Shi’ite Grand Ayatollahs regarding the identity and the rights of a child born by involvement of a third party were collected. The result shows inconsistency between the opinion of the contemporary Islamic jurists and the existing law about embryo donation. Islamic Jurists believe that the child of embryo donation does not belong to the recipient couple. However, according to the Embryo Donation Act, in particular with regard to the duties placed upon infertile couples, who receive the donated embryo, implicitly accept the recipient couple as the parents of the child. This eventually leaves the child with an identity crisis besides deprivation of citizenship rights in some cases. Accordingly, as the current rules and legislations of Iran conflicts with views of the Islamic jurists, to resolve this problem, a revision to accept the recipients as legal parents of the child is necessary.

Empathy is a necessary condition for an effective nursing care. An empathetic relationship between nurse and patients leads to positive treatment outcomes and moral sensitivity among students in clinical and educational environments. This study was conducted in 2014 to determine the level of empathy among nursing students and its relationship with their demographic data. A cross-sectional study (Descriptive analysis) was undertaken using paper-based versions of the Jefferson Scale of nursing Empathy. By using stratified random sampling, 320 undergraduate students from the first to forth-year of their program in Tehran University of Medical Sciences were selected.The result shows that participants reported good empathy levels, and the average of empathy score was 103±11. Empathy scores increased with increasing academic year. There was a significant relationship between sex and empathy. Students who did not passed the effective communication course scored higher than their counterparts. Empathy score increased with age, and older students recorded higher scores than their younger colleagues. Single and employed students recorded higher empathy scores than married and unemployed students.There were no significant differences between the place of living (dormitory versus personal house), Interest in nursing education as well as their marks.Regarding the relationship between empathy with students’ academic years, the finding offers insights into the importance of incorporating and promoting empathy in nursing curricula from the first year of training.In addition, it is necessary to pay more attention to teaching empathy to male students.

Confidentiality is considered as a principle commitment of all health care professionals. Respecting confidentiality creates and maintains the trust between patients and health professionals.Patients should be assured that their information will be kept confidential unless there is a persuasive reason.Confidentiality originates from principle of patient’s autonomy, andthere is no need to be requested frankly by patient.All of the patient’s information is naturally secret unless the patient gives consent to disclosure. In this article we aimed at reviewing challenges of confidentiality in pharmacy practice in addition to presenting the national and international guidelines in this regard. The pharmacists as the last link of the treatment team are receiving a wide range of information about their patients. Therefore respecting confidentiality in pharmacy practice should be considered as a very important requirement and it seems that privacy and confidentiality is at the primary rack of ethical and legal issues in pharmacy. Obviously fundamental challenges are existent in the pharmacy which remained unsolved. In this regards all those challenges should be determined, analyzed and practiced. In the paper we introduced some challenges including challenges related to the physical environment, pharmaceutical consultation, patients confidentiality in presence of patients family, etc and presented national and international guidelines which assists in dealing with the challenges.