LAW AND ETHICS IN NURSING PRACTICE: A CASE STUDY OF PREGNANCY TERMINATION IN AN HIV-POSITIVE WOMAN
Keywords:
Nursing Practice, Law, Nursing EthicsAbstract
Nursing practice is the role, duty, and responsibility of professional nurses who hold a license to practice nursing and midwifery, and it must be performed with caution in both legal and ethical aspects, taking into account patients’ rights. Nurses must apply scientific knowledge, art, and experience in carrying out various activities. This academic article aimed to analyze a case study of pregnancy termination in an HIV-positive woman. Nurses must perform nursing practices within the framework of relevant laws, such as Sections 301, 302, and 305 of the Penal Code, and professional ethical principles including respect for autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and veracity. Nurses should understand the relationship of both legal and ethical aspects in nursing practice by linking to the routine nursing practices. In addition, nurses should recognize their role as advisors, providing guidance and information to help direct pregnant women in making appropriate reasoned decisions, which benefits the nurses providing care to pregnant women who wish to request pregnancy termination.
References
Arpanantikul, M. (2007). Principle of morality in health care service. Thai Journal of Nursing Council, 22(4), 5-9. https://he02.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/TJONC/article/view/2457 [in Thai]
Faúndes, A., & Miranda, L. (2017). Ethics surrounding the provision of abortion care. Best Practice & Research: Clinical Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 43, 50-57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpobgyn.2016.12.005
Harnyoot, O. (2018). Ethical decision making: Concept and application. Journal of the Royal Thai Army Nurses, 19(2), 111-119. https://he01.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/JRTAN/article/view/143967 [in Thai]
Harnyoot, O., & Wongsaree, C. (2018). Ethical behavior for professional nurses. Journal of the Royal Thai Army Nurses, 19(3), 33-37. https://he01.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/JRTAN/article/view/161491?articlesBySameAuthorPage=2 [in Thai]
Jirapatsakul, C. (2016, December 11). Human immunodeficiency virus infection in pregnancy. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University. https://w1.med.cmu.ac.th/obgyn/lecturestopics/topic-review/5112/ [in Thai]
Ministry of Public Health. (2022, September 26). Ministerial Regulation on Examination and Option Counselling for Termination of Pregnancy under Section 305 (5) of the Criminal Code B.E. 2565 (2022). Royal Thai Government Gazette. https://www.ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/DATA/PDF/2565/E/228/T_0001.PDF [in Thai]
National Assembly of Thailand. (1997, April 24). Nursing and Midwifery Profession Act (No. 2) B.E. 2540. Royal Thai Government Gazette. https://prt.parliament.go.th/items/71a8b69d-2dc8-46ab-b40b-25c5be410621 [in Thai]
National Assembly of Thailand. (2021, February 6). Act Amending the Criminal Code (No. 28) B.E. 2564. Royal Thai Government Gazette. https://www.ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/DATA/PDF/2564/A/010/T_0001.PDF [in Thai]
Roykulcharoen, V. (2007). Nursing practice: Humanized care. Journal of Thailand Nursing and Midwifery Council, 22(3), 5-8. https://he02.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/TJONC/article/view/2437 [in Thai]
Saleem, H. T., Narasimhan, M., Ganatra, B., Kennedy, C. E. (2018, December 19). Medical abortion and surgical abortion for women living with HIV. Cochrane. https://www.cochrane.org/evidence/CD012834_medical-and-surgical-abortion-women-living-hiv
The Royal Thai College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. (2022, September 22). RTCOG clinical practice guideline. https://www.rtcog.or.th/content/show/12/43/0/0 [in Thai]
Thongjam, R., & Bodhikun, P. (2020). Ethics in nursing practice. Journal of Graduate MCU KhonKaen Campus, 7(1), 29-44. https://so02.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/jg-mcukk/article/view/235685 [in Thai]
Tipmanee, P. (2005). Abortion law for mothers with psychological disorder. Dhurakij Pundit University. https://libdoc.dpu.ac.th/research/113885.pdf [in Thai]
World Health Organization (2019). Mother-to-child transmission of HIV. https://www.who.int/teams/global-hiv-hepatitis-and-stis-programmes/hiv/prevention/mother-to-child-transmission-of-hiv
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Journal of Health and Food Creation
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
“ข้าพเจ้าและผู้เขียนร่วม (ถ้ามี) ขอรับรองว่า บทความที่เสนอมานี้ยังไม่เคยได้รับการตีพิมพ์และไม่ได้อยู่ระหว่างกระบวนการพิจารณาลงตีพิมพ์ในวารสารหรือแหล่งเผยแพร่อื่นใด ข้าพเจ้าและผู้เขียนร่วมยอมรับหลักเกณฑ์การพิจารณาต้นฉบับ ทั้งยินยอมให้กองบรรณาธิการมีสิทธิ์พิจารณาและตรวจแก้ต้นฉบับได้ตามที่เห็นสมควร พร้อมนี้ขอมอบลิขสิทธิ์บทความที่ได้รับการตีพิมพ์ให้แก่สถาบันการจัดการปัญญาภิวัฒน์หากมีการฟ้องร้องเรื่องการละเมิดลิขสิทธิ์เกี่ยวกับภาพ กราฟ ข้อความส่วนใดส่วนหนึ่งและ/หรือข้อคิดเห็นที่ปรากฏในบทความข้าพเจ้าและผู้เขียนร่วมยินยอมรับผิดชอบแต่เพียงฝ่ายเดียว”
