Apparently, "Best Interests of the Mother" is Not Only the Standard in Family Court, But Also In Genetics and BioEthics

ZimbaZumba · 2013-09-23T01:31:36+00:00

Telling a man he is carrying the gene would effect his decision to have children if he remarried.
Telling a man he is carrying a gene would also infer his siblings do as well. If it is inherited.
What if the determination was made within the time period for him to legally revoke paternity?
Medical ethics are not driven by the best interest of the child principle. They are driven by ethics.
What if the 'mother' was not the mother, ie mixed up at the hospital? Would they tell her?
Would they enter the 'fact' he was a gene carrier on his medical record?
Telling a person they carry a gene, when they don't, is called lying.

sens1t1vethug · 2013-09-22T22:33:16+00:00

This is very interesting. Thanks for posting this link.

Mitschu · 2013-09-22T23:46:32+00:00

The child has a full right to know of any revealed issues of lineage and genetic makeup, from the age of majority onwards at barest minimum. The doctor's oath of confidentiality to the mother does not supersede his oath of non-maleficence to the patient.

Now, I include age of majority there only because in the strictest legal sense, the child is not its own representative until then - which is why his or her legal guardian(s) must be informed instead.

The doctor has a moral and professional obligation to inform both the father and the mother (except in cases where one of the parents does not have any legal custody) of any and all issues that arise in the patient's (child's) healthcare.

Withholding this information from a parent is akin to, to a smaller degree, not telling a patient that they have detectable cancer malignancy when performing a routine examination because you feel the information might upset their relatives.

A doctor does not have the right to ignore a patient's (or a patient's representatives) autonomy, nor the right to intentionally prevent informed consent, when making medical decisions.

burntoast101 · 2013-09-22T18:55:43+00:00

Unfortunately, doctor patient confidentiality is probably the overriding factor here. Its not a problem with a good solution, but I tend to side with the doctors here.

Title	Apparently, "Best Interests of the Mother" is Not Only the Standard in Family Court, But Also In Genetics and BioEthics
Author	actanonverba8
Upvotes	33
Comments	28
Date	September 22, 2013 4:23 PM UTC (12 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/1mwegf/apparently_best_interests_of_the_mother_is_not/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/apparently-best-interests-of-the-mother-is-not.1163209 https://theredarchive.com/post/1163209

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