Ethical Dimensions of Urology: Four Case Studies

Abstract

In recent years, the progression of medical science has led to what used to be extremely rare ethical problems on the cutting edge of urological management of male infertility to become a more routine part of urological practice. These ethical problems, even though they have become more common in urological practice, still cause significant issues for the physician. In this chapter we discuss four cases that illustrate the ethical problems associated with identification and framing of the ethical problem, analysis of the problem, and the resolution of the problem. The basic purpose of these case discussions is that it is much easier to avoid and/or satisfactorily resolve an ethical problem when it is recognized early before a crisis mode arises or before poor ethical decisions are made and have to be unraveled after the fact. These cases represent four possible scenarios but are by no means exhaustive of the possible ethical issues that may arise from the current urological practice.