Ethical Arguments Regarding Tarasoff Case

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Ethical Arguments Regarding Tarasoff Case In 1969 when Prosenjit Poddar informed his psychologist, Dr. Lawrence Moore of his intent to kill Tatiana Tarasoff, a long standing debate began (Beauchamp & Childress, 2001). The death of Tatiana led to a prominent ethical dilemma in terms of the duty to report threats of violence. This issue has many opposing views that attempt to defend the right to confidentiality. Based on religious beliefs, there are also arguments that can be made for how someone with Jewish or Catholic beliefs might feel towards the Tarasoff case. Personally, I believe that no right is above the right to life and that as a medical professional, I believe that you must inform the individual of potential harm. The Tarasoff …show more content…

Due to mental health being a difficult topic for people and the act of seeking out treatment is often a difficult task, confidentiality is needed for individuals to seek out assistance (Beauchamp & Childress, 2001). The reluctance around getting help for mental health concerns is often alleviated by the assurance of confidentiality. Another argument made for the necessity of confidentiality is that it is crucial to allow for full transparency and disclosure from the patient (Beauchamp & Childress, 2001). Due to the nature of psychiatric treatment, a patient must feel comfortable to disclose their innermost thoughts to truly participate in therapy. The final argument made for the need for confidentiality between therapist and patient is due to the ability to form a confidential relationship based on trust (Beauchamp & Childress, 2001). If the therapist breaks that trust by divulging private information, the entire therapeutic relationship is broken and that ability to participate in therapy is severely …show more content…

They both utilize teaching from the Bible and follow commandments. While the healthcare ministry views respecting the sacredness of every human life to be the right of life and adequate health care, there is another angle that this can be viewed in (Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services, 2009). To respect the sacred human life is to respect their length of life and assist with prolonging a quality life if able. Catholic views also encourage the strive towards the common good (Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services, 2009). In order to achieve this common good is to ensure protection for fundamental rights of all individuals. A basic fundamental right is the right to life. This indicates that by Catholic ethics a therapist is obligated to ensure longevity of life and the sanctity of the right to