Assignment 1: Women should not be the only party involved in using contraceptives. Understanding, why this responsibility has historically fallen on women?
Through this assignment I was able to explore how gender imbalances still exist in society, even with the progress society has made towards gender equality. I learned that ethical decision making is the standard by what is right and wrong is decided, a key component of ethical decision-making is an individuals autonomy. Autonomy is a vital component of gender equality in society. Through my essay I realised that true autonomy is when both genders can freely make the choices that best align with them without society enforcing its preconceived notions based on their genders on them.
Assignment 2 : Terminally ill patients, who experience severe pain and emotional stress, should have access to assistance to end their lives, where this is truly their wish.
I learned that when there are ethical decisions in healthcare that need to be made there is away for both the patient and doctor to both honour the ethics that they hold themselves to.
Example from my essay illustrating this:
"Patient autonomy is the ability of the individual to make an informed decision about the
medical procedures that they would like to have, whether it is harmful or not, free from
coercion. Physicians honour the principle of patient autonomy when they provide true, clear and understandable information to the patient which will assist them in making an informed decision. While there are aspects of biomedical ethics that contradict the provision of euthanasia to patients, when it is their autonomous decision, there is a balance between biomedical ethics and patient autonomy which allows for euthanasia for terminally ill patients."