Table 2. Beliefs About Ethical Questions and Experiences of Moral Controversy Among Respondents to a 2007 Ethics Survey Among a Stratified Random Sample of U.S. Primary Care Physicians.
| Survey items | No. (%)* |
|---|---|
|
Primary criterion variable statement #1: A physician
should never do what he or she believes is morally wrong, no matter what experts say (n = 435) | |
| Agree | 327 (78) |
| Disagree | 108 (22) |
|
| |
|
Primary criterion variable statement #2:
Sometimes physicians have a professional ethical obligation to provide medical services even if they personally believe it would be morally wrong to do so (n = 435) | |
| Agree | 272 (57) |
| Disagree | 163 (43) |
|
| |
|
Composite result: Is there ever a professional
obligation for a physician to do what he or she personally believes is wrong? (n = 424) † | |
| Physicians are never obligated to do what they personally believe is wrong |
154 (42) |
| Middle view | 172 (36) |
| As professionals, physicians are sometimes obligated to do what they personally believe is wrong |
98 (22) |
|
| |
|
Controversial procedures to which respondents
objected | |
| Physician-assisted suicide (n = 431) | 303 (68) |
| Abortion because of failed contraception (n = 427) | 184 (44) |
| Abortion because fetus has Down syndrome (n = 425) | 167 (44) |
|
| |
|
Frequency of encountering a clinical controversy
‡
(n = 434) | |
| Never | 227 (49) |
| No more than once a month | 167 (42) |
| More than once a month | 40 (9) |
|
| |
|
Clinical obligations if a patient requests a legal
medical procedure or treatment, but the patient’s physician objects to the procedure for religious or moral reasons | |
| Does the physician have an obligation to provide the procedure or treatment himself or herself? (n = 439) | |
| Yes | 80 (14) |
| No | 315 (77) |
| Undecided | 44 (9) |
| If the physician will not provide the treatment or procedure, does he or she have an obligation to refer the patient to a doctor who will do so? (n = 440) | |
| Yes | 365 (82) |
| No | 44 (11) |
| Undecided | 31 (7) |
*
Percentages reflect survey-design-adjusted estimates for the population of U.S. physicians, whereas the “n” counts reflect the raw number of respondents in our sample. The “n” count does not always sum to 446 because some questionnaires were returned without being completed.
†
This composite result excludes the eight respondents who disagreed with both statements.
‡
Respondents were asked, “In your own practice, how often do patients request a medical procedure or treatment that you find morally problematic?”