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Thitirat Pongprajuc (Nuch)

This I believe...at the beginning of the semester

1. Patient autonomy should stop when the patient has a chance to get better by receiving
treatment, but she refuses to get that and want to die instead. I still agree that a patient should
have a right to make her own decision. For example, when a patient has a cold, she should have a
right to decide whether she wants to take pills or take a shot. However, wanting to die is still a
patients choice, but it is close to committing suicide.

2. Medical research should . . . provide information about disease trends, risk factors, medical
interventions and also ways to prevent and treat diseases in the future. If there were no medical
research at all, some people would have no choice to live. Some new diseases such as SARS,
Ebola, and Zika would have killed more people if nobody had done the research on them.

3. Genetic testing for the future should . . . provide individuals who are at risk of getting a
disease. Since we cant change our genes, so the benefits that we can take from genetic testing is
to know what genes cause the certain disease. If we have that gene, we could do any possible
things to reduce a chance of the symptom. Or if we have that symptom, well have a better
preparation for the symptom.

4. Egg and sperm donation should be . . . not be anonymous. We dont know exactly how
much egg and sperm have been bought and sold. We dont know how many babies are born with
the same donor (same father and/or same mom). One donor can father hundreds of children, and
the donor passes on their genes which carry a disease. The worst-case scenario, two of his
children get married without knowing that they have the same father. They would have a higher
chance of having a child who has a genetic disease.

5. Abortion should not be legalized in all states. Some may say that the embryo doesnt have
a life yet, its just a small little thing in the womb. In my opinion, abortion equivalent killing
someone. In my opinion, abortion equivalent killing someone. If the embryo has the ability to
grow up, it has a life. If a woman or a couple think they arent capable of raising a child, they
need to use birth control, not to get pregnant and take that embryo off.

6. Treating or terminating impaired infants should be decided by . . . parents. Parents are the
ones who have to take care of the infants, so they should have a right to choose to treat or
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terminate the impaired babies. Before it comes to the decision process, there should be several
discussions between doctors and parents about the possible circumstances that could happen if
they decide to treat the infants. If the treatments are very expensive, the parents should have
information provided where/how they can get help such as a donation. If the parents think they
cant deal with the following outcomes, the decision to terminate the impaired infants is still on
their own.

7. Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide should be . . . performed when a patient has no

response to any treatment given. Sometimes it is hard to say what should be done to all cases
because medical care in America is costly. Rich people can spend medical expense to save their
beloved ones' lives. On the other hand, many people who live on a budget, they may not have
that extra money to spend on life support system for the patients. They may have to let their
beloved ones being euthanized.

8. Payment to organ donors or their families should be . . . banned. When we donate

something, we are more likely to give away to help someone rather than expect to get something
back from a receiver. If there is money involved, its more like buying or selling organs. If the
organ receivers feel appreciate the help, they can do so many things for the donors and their
families. If they have financial struggling, the receiver could help them to find a better job to get
more money. I think this way is better than just give them money.

9. Allocation of health care should be considered based on a person's age/quality of

life/ability to pay I believed that a persons age, quality of life and ability to pay should be
considered in the allocation of health care because people from different age ranges have a
different level of risk to a certain disease. A teenager may have a lower risk of having high blood
pressure than a 50-year-old man. The health care for the youth should be cheaper than a 50-year-
old man. The quality of life and ability to pay are corresponding. A man who has a high quality
of life usually have more money to spend on health care. So, he should get a service that he
deserves. It doesnt mean that the poor shouldnt get a good allocation of health care. Everyone
should get a good allocation of health care as possible.

10. Medical research for women should . . . not be ignored. In most cases, medical research
doesnt report its result by gender or has few female subjects although the diseases such as
cardiovascular disease kill more women than men. If researchers conduct a medical research by
having the same number of men and women subjects, they will find more information about risk
factors, treatments for women who have symptoms. This would have saved more woman life
than before.
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11. Health care for minorities should be . . . improved. Health care for minorities has been
reported to have lower quality than the whites. Sometimes the minorities are left behind. We
have promoted all lives matter, but when it comes to health care service, minorities go to the
hospital, their lives dont seem to be as important as whites lives. Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians
receive worse access to care than whites. I believe all people actually should be equally treated in
all areas.

12. Those with AIDS/HIV should . . . take care of them by getting the right treatment and care.
They can live as long as someone doesnt have HIV can live. The most important thing is not to
spread the virus to other people. It doesnt mean that they have to live separately from people
who dont have HIV. They can live together, but they should be careful of any way that the virus
can be spread by having sex without using a condom and/or sharing syringes or needles.