Virtual Mentor. September 2007, Volume 9, Number 9: 595-659. Full Issue PDF

September 2007 Contents

The Parental-Fetal Disconnect

Ethics Poll

It has been shown that giving antiretrovirals along with a detailed treatment plan to pregnant women with HIV/AIDS reduces the rate of transmission to their infants to about 2.5 percent. Given this information, many people believe that HIV testing should be mandatory in pregnant women who present for prenatal care. Do you think women should:
Be told of their physician's intent to test them for HIV and given the option to refuse testing.
Be told of the benefits of prenatal testing but have to opt-in to the testing.
Not be told of the HIV/AIDS test specifically, but tested for it when they consent to the normal prenatal blood work.

People should be allowed to donate gametes (sperm or eggs) anonymously, that is, with the proviso that identifying, non-health related information (known to the gamete "banking" facility) will not be revealed to the offspring.
Agree.
Disagree.

New mothers should be liable for civil action (e.g., neglect, endangerment) on behalf of their impaired newborn if the impairment can be decisively attributed to their (fill in the blank) while pregnant. (Choose all that apply)
Smoking.
Drinking.
Use of illegal drugs.
Use of legal drugs.
Poor nutrition.
Lack of prenatal care.
Risk taking behaviors, e.g., skydiving.
Mothers should not be liable for civil action taken on behalf of their impaired offspring. Smoking.
Drinking.
Use of illegal drugs.
Use of legal drugs.
Poor nutrition.
Lack of prenatal care.
Risk taking behaviors, e.g., skydiving.
Mothers should not be liable for civil action taken on behalf of their impaired offspring.

From the Editor

Perinatal Ethics
Dana Marie Roque
Full Text | PDF
Virtual Mentor. 2007; 9:597-599.

Educating for Professionalism

Clinical Cases

Pregnant Women and Cervical Cancer: Balancing Best Interest of Mother and Fetus
Commentary by Watson A. Bowes Jr.
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Virtual Mentor. 2007; 9:600-604.

Assisted Reproduction and Primum Non Nocere
Commentary by Marta Kolthoff
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Virtual Mentor. 2007; 9:605-610.

Pregnant Women Who Smoke: A Challenge to the Patient-Physician Relationship
Commentary by Jennifer Hernandez and Scott Roberts
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Virtual Mentor. 2007; 9:611-614.

Journal Discussion

Should Women with Transplanted Organs Be Discouraged from Becoming Pregnant?
Kamalkumar P. Kolappa and David A. Gerber
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Virtual Mentor. 2007; 9:615-619.

Clinical Pearl

Preeclampsia: A Perturbation of the Maternal-Fetal Balance?
Arun Jeyabalan
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Virtual Mentor. 2007; 9:620-624.

Law, Policy, and Society

Health Law

Is It Time to Revisit Prenatal HIV Testing Laws?
Daniel Zank
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Virtual Mentor. 2007; 9:625-629.

Policy Forum

A Match Made in Heaven: Posthumous Fatherhood and Postmenopausal Motherhood
Senait Fisseha
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Virtual Mentor. 2007; 9:630-634.

Medicine and Society

Is Restricting Access to Assisted Reproductive Technology an Infringement of Reproductive Rights?
Andrew M. Courtwright and Mia Wechsler Doron
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Virtual Mentor. 2007; 9:635-640.

History, Art, and Narrative

Medical Narratives

A Doctor's Journey Back to Practice
Catherine Green
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Virtual Mentor. 2007; 9:641-643.

Op-Ed and Correspondence

Op-Ed

Gamete Donation, Identity, and the Offspring's Right to Know
Lucy Frith
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Virtual Mentor. 2007; 9:644-648.

Resources

Suggested Readings and Resources
PDF
Virtual Mentor. 2007; 9:649-657.

About the Contributors
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Virtual Mentor. 2007; 9:658-659.

© 2007 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.