The Negative Effect of the Proposed Bill on Public Health - Article Example

Turkewitz‘s article identifies various efforts by the public in seeking the right to choose whether to use experimental drugs. The argument in this debate has been whether to legalize their usage if the patient seeks to do so. Each public health issue is guided by ethics thus any public health argument should keep in mind the medical code of ethics. The patients’ rights are limited to other factors including the implication of their actions to the medical fraternity. There is a need to focus on the well-being of the public while at the same time seeking models that will ensure rules are followed.

Legislations aim to safeguard the functionality of a given institution. The bill being proposed to allow patients to choose whether to use experimental drugs shall mean medical practitioners have limited control in matters of public health. Any action requires an individual to take responsibility. The medical code of ethics means that each doctor or any other health officer is enshrined by a given set of roles and thus must adhere to these rules. This implies that any effect of a given drug on a patient. Allowing the use of experimental drugs will mean that each patient would be liable if the drug negatively affects them. This will mean that the doctors and other medical officers will be reduced to inactive members of public health. This will culminate in malpractices by these officers with the knowledge that the existing regulation protects them from any punishment. This will hence undermine the essence of the ethical code of conduct. The patients will be subjected to a commercialized health system that cares less about practitioners’ ethics.

The bill fails to specify under which circumstances the experimental drugs will be used. The loophole in the bill will create room for medical practitioners to use these drugs for their own benefit. This will entail using humans as ‘guinea pigs’ in an attempt to create a product that commercially benefits the doctors administering treatment. The use of humans in tests raises the question of the ethical components of experimental drugs. Companies will collaborate with health providers in a scheme to test their drugs on humans. The patients will be subject to a series of drugs without their knowledge. The essence of any public health institution is to ensure the patient’s welfare is protected. The physicians in any facility should ensure any activity improves the well-being of their patients.

In any terminal illness case, there is the question of when should the ending life decision be made. The doctors may decide to end a patient’s life due to pain or other factors brought forward by the patient and family. The main argument would be the appropriate means to execute the act while maintaining ethics. The majority of states in America limit the manner in which palliative care is administered. This is an effort by the government to control euthanasia. In the event, a doctor uses an experimental drug and it turns out fetal, they may the loopholes provided by the bill to escape prosecution. Doctors may end life knowing that the law will protect them if convicted. The provision in the bill should keep in mind the decision-making process while ending life. The legality of euthanasia and assisted suicide should not be used as a component in administering experimental drugs.

In conclusion, it is evident that the public health sector is guided by ethics. Treatment of a patient needs to focus on the welfare of the patient and at the same time follow set guidelines. The occurrence of an epidemic will mean alternative means are deployed to control; the spread while tested drugs are used to ensure those affected are treated. The essence of any law is to regulate operations in a given manner. The decision-making should be consultative between patients and the doctors thus creating consent between the two parties. This means that experimental drugs should be limited. It is evident that each public health issue is guided by ethics. Thus, physicians and other health workers need to acknowledge this and operate within the rules set by the public health sector.