Bioethics Centre, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand.
J Bioeth Inq. 2022 Jun;19(2):265-271. doi: 10.1007/s11673-022-10168-w. Epub 2022 Feb 14.
In 2018, the remarkable rescue of twelve young boys and their football coach trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand captured worldwide attention. The rescue required the boys to be dived out of the cave system while fully anaesthetized which presented unique practical and ethical challenges for the rescue team. Major departures from normal anaesthetic practice were required. Taking anaesthetized children underwater was unprecedented, complex, and dangerous. To do this underground in a flooded cave meant the risks were extreme. Using a principlist approach, this essay will outline the rescue plan highlighting the ethical dilemmas faced by the rescue team. Informed consent and full disclosure of information are justifiably waived in emergency disaster scenarios. Beneficence as a guiding principle becomes a major challenge when all rescue options appear destined to cause likely fatalities of healthy young boys. Importantly, virtues and virtue ethics also have a vital role to play when confronting and dealing with ethical challenges in disaster scenarios-this will be discussed with particular reference to the cave rescue.
2018 年，泰国一个被洪水淹没的洞穴中被困的 12 名年轻男孩和他们的足球教练的成功救援引起了全球关注。救援要求在男孩们完全麻醉的情况下从洞穴系统中潜水出来，这给救援团队带来了独特的实际和伦理挑战。需要对正常的麻醉实践进行重大偏离。在水下为麻醉儿童进行手术是前所未有的，复杂且危险的。在地下充满洪水的洞穴中进行手术意味着风险极高。本文将采用原则方法，概述救援计划，重点介绍救援团队面临的伦理困境。在紧急灾难情况下，正当程序和充分披露信息可以合理豁免。当所有救援选择似乎注定导致健康年轻男孩可能死亡时，作为指导原则的有利原则就成为一个主要挑战。重要的是，美德和美德伦理在面对和处理灾难情况下的伦理挑战时也起着至关重要的作用——这将特别参考洞穴救援进行讨论。
