Ethics Dilemmas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ethics Dilemmas - Essay Example In articulating my response I have made the greatest effort to remain objective and refrain from imbuing the reasoning with personal morality or religious influence. Still, with personal reasons aside the risk associated with revising the report greatly outweighs the benefits. Recently, the risk associated with producing misguided reports was brought to light in the case of the Wakefield Paper Retraction. In this instance, â€Å"Two decades of an antivaccine movement were essentially built on this paper, creating a decrease in MMR vaccination and an increase in measles outbreaks†¦Despite countless other scientific studies†¦it’s been challenging to convince parents as to the lack of link between autism and the MMR vaccine† ("The wakefield paper," 2010). In this instance, the falsifying of the report created a paradigm shift that caused significant medical detriment to many individuals with autism. While this specific report may not have the wide-ranging implica tions of the Wakefield Paper, the potential for such a pervasive influence is an extremely viable concern. Another major reason why it will not be ethically responsible to change the contents of the report relate to the potential of such a change to detrimentally harm individuals. When considering historical instances of such medical malpractice, there are many examples wherein such practices had long-term harmful effects. From as early as 1932, with the Tuskegee Syphilis Study where, â€Å"Researchers withheld treatment even when penicillin became widely available† (Resnik, 2010), it’s clear that the nature of medical responsibility is of the utmost importance. Numerous instances in the 20th century demonstrate instances where short-term financial gain was followed, and in later years detrimental consequences followed. In these regards, if the report were revised, while it might be possible for the company to gain short-term market share and a competitive