Ethical Considerations on the Free Supply of Contraceptives / 中国医学伦理学

ABSTRACT

As a public product,contraceptives are freely provided to eligible people by the Chinese government to guarantee the implementation of the family planning policy,the realization of coordinated development of population and economy,and the benefit of descendants,which conforms to ethical principles.In recent years this free public service,delivered in high-quality and through informed consent,has ethically embodied the respect for human rights and concern for reproductive health of the people.However,in the process of free contraceptive supply,some ethical problems still exist.To begin with,the lack of knowledge and skills in conducting informed consent has placed both service providers and eligible people into a dilemma.Besides,the majority of unmarried,single and divorced have been unfairly excluded from free contraceptives and services.Thirdly,the contraceptive management system and some department responsibilities have been contrary to each other.The author suggests it is necessary to define more clearly the nature of management structure,refine the current contraceptive supply policy,reform the management mechanism and standardize the practice of informed consent in an effort to improve the current contraceptive supply service.