Medical Ethics And The Faith Factor

Medical Ethics and the Faith Factor is a reference book that promises to be a very useful resource for health care professionals, chaplains, pastors, priests, rabbis, and other people of faith who frequently interact with individuals and families facing illness and disability.

Robert Orr brings to the table the accumulated knowledge of four decades in the medical field, many of which he spent dealing with clinical ethics. However, unlike many books on medical ethics, this isn’t simply a platform to convince us that Orr’s opinion is fact. Instead, it is a reality check replete with real case studies that reintroduce the human element to a discussion so often detached from the very people it claims to concern.

In part 1 Orr explains the ethical and theological foundations of contemporary clinical ethics. Parts 2, 3, and 4 focus on specific ethical dilemmas. Here Orr tackles such questions as What management options are available when the family of a patient who is brain dead is unwilling to accept the diagnosis? Is a feeding tube ethically obligatory for a patient with advanced dementia? Is it ethically permissible to continue to prescribe narcotics for a patient who admits to their misuse? Should we provide organ transplantation for an undocumented foreign national?

Finally, part 5 explores ways that family members, clergy, counselors, and friends can assist patients and families as they struggle with these difficult decisions, emphasizing the priesthood of believers and the importance of prayer for God’s wisdom and peace.

Medical Ethics and the Faith Factor is a timely entry into a growing ethical discussion. Readers of this book will come away with a greater familiarity with clinical issues, a recognition of the moral questions raised by those issues – including those of religion and culture – and the ability to render more thoughtful assistance to patients and families struggling to find answers.