I am in school to become a Medical Laboratory Technician and I have just realized that I may come up against a huge moral problem

[AmandaB]

I am worried that if I have to perform testing on certain samples that would indicate for instance if a pregnant woman was carrying a baby with birth defects, that I would not be comfortable with this, or even other things that could come up. I just wouldn’t want to think that I could be responsible for having any part in a potential abortion. Am I allowed to refuse to perform certain tests without being fired or would it be mandatory no matter where I work??? For example, I wanted to work in a Hospital, but now I’m worried about this potential problem. Thanks!

 

[Tezza]

I am worried that if I have to perform testing on certain samples that would indicate for instance if a pregnant woman was carrying a baby with birth defects, that I would not be comfortable with this, or even other things that could come up. I just wouldn’t want to think that I could be responsible for having any part in a potential abortion. Am I allowed to refuse to perform certain tests without being fired or would it be mandatory no matter where I work??? For example, I wanted to work in a Hospital, but now I’m worried about this potential problem. Thanks!

Hi Amanda.

That’s a tough one.

When I worked as a nurse, a doctor witheld treatment (other than fluids) from a thirty-something year old man with an active GI bleed. No transfusions, no GI consult to find and stop the bleed. Nothing. Why? Because he had AIDS.

It really shook me up, sending me straight to my priest. Should I quit the facility? Did I contribute in some way by not doing more? (I did go to the ethics committee). The priest assured me I was not culpable and did not have to leave the facility because of the action of one doctor. It wasn’t pleasant, but it woke me up to some of the things I would inevitably face as a medical professional.

IMHO, the work you do should not have to make you question yourself because some might choose to make poor decisions with the findings of the test you perform. It may also detect abnormalities that can be treated early or prepare for proper treatment after the fact.

I could never see myself working for an organization that does testing on aborted fetal tissue, though. That would be a very different story.

BTW, I worked for a Veterans Hospital for awhile. Not many pregnant women there! Might be an option for you.

Peace,
Teri

 

[lizaanne]

I am worried that if I have to perform testing on certain samples that would indicate for instance if a pregnant woman was carrying a baby with birth defects, that I would not be comfortable with this, or even other things that could come up. I just wouldn’t want to think that I could be responsible for having any part in a potential abortion. Am I allowed to refuse to perform certain tests without being fired or would it be mandatory no matter where I work??? For example, I wanted to work in a Hospital, but now I’m worried about this potential problem. Thanks!

For the most part you will only receive a sample and be asked to run a test and provide the results. Period. You are not being asked to diagnose, and you probably will not know why the doctor is order a given test, or the patient’s history. You are being asked to be as objective as possible in your analysis of a sample. The doctor does not want your opinion, he wants hard solid scientific results to base his treatment decisions on which are HIS moral issue to deal with.

For example - many women may want to know if their child has birth defects so they can be prepared for when the child arrives - not so they can abort it. A wide range of tests can be performed for a number of reasons, none of which you will ever know about. So don’t assume that just because you receive a request that it is always or only for sinister and immoral purpose. It is the doctor’s role to diagnose and treat - it is your job to provide the data for him to do that. What he decides to do with that data is up to him - it is not your moral responsibility when you are only being asked for your professional services if someone else is performing an immoral action with that data.

~Liza

 

[06convert]

I am worried that if I have to perform testing on certain samples that would indicate for instance if a pregnant woman was carrying a baby with birth defects, that I would not be comfortable with this, or even other things that could come up. I just wouldn’t want to think that I could be responsible for having any part in a potential abortion. Am I allowed to refuse to perform certain tests without being fired or would it be mandatory no matter where I work??? For example, I wanted to work in a Hospital, but now I’m worried about this potential problem. Thanks!

It’s difficult. Technically it’s your job to provide the results. What the patient and doctor choose to do with those results is out of your hands and not your moral responsibility. It’s up to you if you feel personally responsible for the actions of the patient and/or doctor.

 

[Ron_Conte]

I am worried that if I have to perform testing on certain samples that would indicate for instance if a pregnant woman was carrying a baby with birth defects, that I would not be comfortable with this, or even other things that could come up. I just wouldn’t want to think that I could be responsible for having any part in a potential abortion. Am I allowed to refuse to perform certain tests without being fired or would it be mandatory no matter where I work??? For example, I wanted to work in a Hospital, but now I’m worried about this potential problem. Thanks!

This type of question falls under what moral theologians call ‘cooperation with evil’.
This site has some good resources for health care professionals on Catholic ethics:
ascensionhealth.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=32&Itemid=170

and here is the section on cooperation with evil
ascensionhealth.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=82&Itemid=171

Performing work in a lab related to tests for certain birth defects would fall under mediate material cooperation.

"Mediate material cooperation occurs when the cooperator participates in circumstances that are not essential to the commission of an action, such that the action could occur even without this cooperation. Mediate material cooperation in an immoral act might be justifiable under three basic conditions:

* If there is a proportionately serious reason for the cooperation (i.e., for the sake of protecting an important good or for avoiding a worse harm); the graver the evil the more serious a reason required for the cooperation;

* The importance of the reason for cooperation must be proportionate to the causal proximity of the cooperator’s action to the action of the principal agent (the distinction between proximate and remote);

* The danger of scandal (i.e., leading others into doing evil, leading others into error, or spreading confusion) must be avoided."

I don’t know enough about your specific situation to judge if it is moral. But speaking in general, the lab tests that you refer to do not necessarily mean that an abortion will be performed. Some parents wish to know in advance if birth defects are present, so as to prepare for that situation in the born child. So your cooperation is neither formal, nor immediate; the act that you are doing is distant from the sin of abortion, and is not necessary for that sin to occur, and so it is mediate material cooperation.

 

[LilyM]

I agree with the last post. Abortion or no, it’s always much better for people to know if their child has any potential health problems as early as possible, and refusal to test eliminates the chance to be emotionally and/or materially prepared for whatever the situation is.

Yes, people might abort the child if they find out, but then again the ones who would do so are just as likely to neglect to properly care for it after it is born if it has health problems they weren’t previously aware of. They are independent moral agents, and you can’t be responsible for all their choices.

 

[Red_Meg]

I’ll second (or third or whatever) the previous posters. You are not responsible for what people decide to do with the test results and you don’t actually know what they will do with them anyway.

I’m over 35 and expecting a baby. I’ve already had one blood test done this pregnancy to calculate the odds of the baby having things like Down Syndrome and spinal bifida, and if the phlebotomist can ever possibly find another vein in my arm, I’ll probably take the second-round blood test as well.

My intent in taking these tests is not to decide whether or not to have an abortion.

Even if I learned the baby had DS and spinal bifida and two heads just for good measure, I would not have an abortion. My reason for wanting to find out about these conditions ahead of time is to ***ensure the safest possible delivery outcome ***for my little one. Spinal bifida babies do better when delivered by c-section. DS babies have a higher incidence of heart defects and GI blockages. Especially if the baby had a heart issue, I would need to deliver at a hospital with a high-level ICU nursery rather than the local Catholic one I normally deliver at. Knowing ahead of time increases my chances of bringing baby home from the hospital safe and sound.

Plus it would be helpful for me, as the mother of a very large family, to have some of the therapies and assistance that a handicapped baby would need lined up ahead of time. I already have one special needs child, but he doesn’t have any of the issues I’ve discussed in this post. It would be really helpful for me to do as much reading and information gathering as possible before the birth so I had a “game plan” in place right away. The first few weeks after delivery are so crazy, what with the physical recovery, lack of sleep, establishing breastfeeding, etc., that not also having to read up on a new issue would be a big help.

Best,

Margaret

 

[AmandaB]

Thank you so much for your opinions! I feel a lot better

 

[AmandaB]

This type of question falls under what moral theologians call ‘cooperation with evil’.
This site has some good resources for health care professionals on Catholic ethics:
ascensionhealth.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=32&Itemid=170

and here is the section on cooperation with evil
ascensionhealth.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=82&Itemid=171

Performing work in a lab related to tests for certain birth defects would fall under mediate material cooperation.

"Mediate material cooperation occurs when the cooperator participates in circumstances that are not essential to the commission of an action, such that the action could occur even without this cooperation. Mediate material cooperation in an immoral act might be justifiable under three basic conditions:

* If there is a proportionately serious reason for the cooperation (i.e., for the sake of protecting an important good or for avoiding a worse harm); the graver the evil the more serious a reason required for the cooperation;

* The importance of the reason for cooperation must be proportionate to the causal proximity of the cooperator’s action to the action of the principal agent (the distinction between proximate and remote);

* The danger of scandal (i.e., leading others into doing evil, leading others into error, or spreading confusion) must be avoided."

I don’t know enough about your specific situation to judge if it is moral. But speaking in general, the lab tests that you refer to do not necessarily mean that an abortion will be performed. Some parents wish to know in advance if birth defects are present, so as to prepare for that situation in the born child. So your cooperation is neither formal, nor immediate; the act that you are doing is distant from the sin of abortion, and is not necessary for that sin to occur, and so it is mediate material cooperation.

Thank you for that website! It has a lot of great info!

 

[puzzleannie]

I am worried that if I have to perform testing on certain samples that would indicate for instance if a pregnant woman was carrying a baby with birth defects, that I would not be comfortable with this, or even other things that could come up. I just wouldn’t want to think that I could be responsible for having any part in a potential abortion. Am I allowed to refuse to perform certain tests without being fired or would it be mandatory no matter where I work??? For example, I wanted to work in a Hospital, but now I’m worried about this potential problem. Thanks!

I don’t see a problem, and I have two relatives who do this work, one in a Catholic hospital, one in a public hospital. You have no say-so in how either the doctor or patient will use information provided by these tests, and just as the information could be used to justify an evil action, so could it be used to provide legitimate helpful treatment options.

 

[selvin]

Medical laboratory technicians are skilled individuals working under the supervision of a certified medical laboratory technologist. They carry out routine clinical laboratory tests and other procedures. For more on job description, please visit our medical laboratory technician salary job description page.