Military medical ethics
Encyclopedia
Military medical ethics is a specialized branch of medical ethics
with implications for military ethics. Both are primarily fields of applied ethics
, the study of moral values and judgments as they apply to the specific contexts of medicine and military affairs, respectively. MME encompasses the practical application of ethics by military physicians
and other healthcare practitioners to dilemmas in military clinical and public health settings in which the patients may be friendly or enemy personnel or in which civilians are affected by military operations.
, for example, are licensed by at least one of the state medical board
s and so are required to practice medicine according to the ethical stipulations of that state.) There is an intrinsic dichotomy, however, between medicine’s healing mission and a military’s (sometimes) destructive operations. Because military operations may result in the injury or death of enemy personnel (often deliberately so) and may involve the detention and interrogation of captured enemy personnel, medical ethics considerations for clinical providers assigned or attached to a military unit in a deployment or combat situation cannot always be identical to those in the civilian world. Ethical conflicts may emerge in the tension between responsibilities to the patient and duties to the command structure. The degree to which principles of medical ethics may justifiably be informed by, or even altered to accommodate, issues of national security is controversial.
in Germany and Japan. They may also entail the more recently revealed Cold War radiation experiments undertaken by the United States government. Such discussions often center upon questions of whether these widely deplored activities of the past can be reasonably compared to present-day military medical ethics dilemmas.
Medical ethics
Medical ethics is a system of moral principles that apply values and judgments to the practice of medicine. As a scholarly discipline, medical ethics encompasses its practical application in clinical settings as well as work on its history, philosophy, theology, and sociology.-History:Historically,...
with implications for military ethics. Both are primarily fields of applied ethics
Applied ethics
Applied ethics is, in the words of Brenda Almond, co-founder of the Society for Applied Philosophy, "the philosophical examination, from a moral standpoint, of particular issues in private and public life that are matters of moral judgment"...
, the study of moral values and judgments as they apply to the specific contexts of medicine and military affairs, respectively. MME encompasses the practical application of ethics by military physicians
Military medicine
The term military medicine has a number of potential connotations. It may mean:*A medical specialty, specifically a branch of occupational medicine attending to the medical risks and needs of soldiers, sailors and other service members...
and other healthcare practitioners to dilemmas in military clinical and public health settings in which the patients may be friendly or enemy personnel or in which civilians are affected by military operations.
Overview
Within a garrison (peacetime or non-deployed) setting, precepts of MME may not differ much from medical ethics in a civilian context and usually employ the same decision-making processes. (Military physicians in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, for example, are licensed by at least one of the state medical board
Federation of State Medical Boards
The Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States is a national non-profit organization that represents the 70 state medical and osteopathic boards of the United States and its territories and co-sponsors the United States Medical Licensing Examination...
s and so are required to practice medicine according to the ethical stipulations of that state.) There is an intrinsic dichotomy, however, between medicine’s healing mission and a military’s (sometimes) destructive operations. Because military operations may result in the injury or death of enemy personnel (often deliberately so) and may involve the detention and interrogation of captured enemy personnel, medical ethics considerations for clinical providers assigned or attached to a military unit in a deployment or combat situation cannot always be identical to those in the civilian world. Ethical conflicts may emerge in the tension between responsibilities to the patient and duties to the command structure. The degree to which principles of medical ethics may justifiably be informed by, or even altered to accommodate, issues of national security is controversial.
Historical background
Discussions of MME often take as a point of departure the lessons to be learned from the perversion of medical practice by military physicians and others in the period leading up to and during World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in Germany and Japan. They may also entail the more recently revealed Cold War radiation experiments undertaken by the United States government. Such discussions often center upon questions of whether these widely deplored activities of the past can be reasonably compared to present-day military medical ethics dilemmas.
Other sources
- Beam, Thomas E. and Linette R. Sparacino, Editors (2003), Military Medical Ethics, Vol. 1 (Series: Textbooks of Military MedicineTextbook of Military MedicineThe Textbook of Military Medicine is a series of volumes on military medicine published since 1989 by the Borden Institute, of the Office of The Surgeon General, Department of the Army. It constitutes a comprehensive, multi-volume treatise on the art and science of military medicine, as practiced...
), Washington, DC: The Borden InstituteBorden InstituteThe Borden Institute is a U.S. Army “Center of Excellence in Military Medical Research and Education” located on the grounds of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center , in Washington, DC....
. - Beam, Thomas E. and Linette R. Sparacino, Editors (2003), Military Medical Ethics, Vol. 2 (Series: Textbook of Military Medicine), Washington, DC: The Borden Institute.
- Grodin, Michael A. and George J. Annas (2005), “Military Medical Ethics” [Review], New England Journal of MedicineNew England Journal of MedicineThe New England Journal of Medicine is an English-language peer-reviewed medical journal published by the Massachusetts Medical Society. It describes itself as the oldest continuously published medical journal in the world.-History:...
, Volume 352:312-314, Number 3, (January 20 issue).