Bioethics

Science asks "Can we?"
Law asks "May we?"
Morality asks "Should we?"

Objectives

• Examine in detail a bioethics issue
• Explore opinions of those in the community
• Lead a class discussion

Phase I: Brainstorm

As a group, brainstorm potential topics to examine. Here is a partial list to give you an idea, but there are other bioethical issues not listed here. Also, many of the issues will overlap in some areas.

• Reseach issues: Should scientists be held to some standard of integrity and honesty? Who should enforce this? Why is peer review so important? Should scientists be held responsible for creating (or discovering) technology that can be used to harm others or have unforseen side effects(chemical, nuclear warfare) ?
• Reproductive Technologies: In vitro fertilization, Surrogacy, RU-486, pre-implantation embryo screening, cloning. Is there a significant difference between cloning sheep for pharmaceutical production and cloning humans?
• Human Genome Project: Should employers be able to screen job applicants for specific genetic conditions? Who should have access to this information: family members, lawyers, insurance agencies?
• Gene therapy: What are the potential ramifications of somatic and germ-line gene therapy? Should genes be tinkered with and if so what limits should be placed on this type of technology.
• Fetus Rights: Does a fetus have rights? If so, what are they and who is responsible for representing the interests of the fetus? Does a fetus have rights that supersede the mothers? Can government step in to ensure the health of the fetus if the mother is not? What about embryos?
• AIDS: issues involving disclosure, privacy, discrimination, insurance coverage
• Euthanasia: What is the right to die? How does withdrawing or withholding treatment differ from physician assisted suicide? Who has the right to decide when and how a person dies? Should doctors be held legally responsible if they assist a patient's death? What laws should be passed to protect doctors and patients.
• Health Care Allocation: How do we decide who gets access to health care, particularly expensive equipment and therapies? How do we decide who gets access to transplanted organs? Should the government pay for health care when a person cannot afford it.
• Environmental Issues: How do we decide between conservation and economic interests. How much land should be allocated to other species and to parks? Should industries be responsible for damage done to the environment by them (pollution)?
• Animal rights Issues: Is animal testing acceptable when it benefits humans? What animals should be tested on and which should not. Does animal research be justified by its benefits to mankind?
• Popoulation control: Who has the right to decide who should have children (and how many). What measures should be taken to control the population of the world.
• Human Research: Should humans be used for medical and psychological studies, what guidelines should be instated to protect subjects
• Minors and Medicine: What medical procedures should minors have available to them without parental consent? Do doctors have an obligation to inform parents of conditions a teen has (pregnancy, AIDS) even if the teen doesn't wish it?
• Genetically Modified Organisms: Should scientists be allowed to change a species by altering their genetic code? Do consumers have a right to know if the food they eat is genetically modified? Should these technologies be applied to humans to improve the species?

Phase II: Research

Now that you have your topic, its time to gather information about the issues. Four positions are listed to help you delegate research responsibilities, if your group is smaller than four, you'll need to double up some or all of the jobs.

Sociologist	Your job is to explore the issue from a societal perspective. What do most people feel. What are the different sides of the issue. Keep in mind, this is not a persuasive topic, your job is to examine all opinions and attitudes
Lawyer	What are the current laws surrounding the issue? Do different states have different laws.
Scientist	Describe and define the topic from a scientific perspective. This section is to inform others of the scientific processes and principles. Example, if your group is exploring cloning: you'll need to explain how cloning works
Educator	Develop a list of questions to be used for class discussion. Plan to respond and engage class with controversy and thought.

Resources

http://bioethics.gov/ ( Presidents Council on Bioethics )
http://www.nih.gov/sigs/bioethics/ ( Bioethics Resourcs on the Web )
http://www.cbhd.org/ ( Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity )
http://www.bioethics.net/ ( American Journal of Bioethics )

Phase III: Discussion Questions

With your topic in mind, develop a list of questions to be used on a survey. These questions will not only be used to survey the class but to prompt discussion within the class.

Example of survey questions:

Do you feel that the government has a right to decide how many children a couple can have?
Do you think that parents have the right to know of medical procedures being performed on their minor children (abortion, contraception, treatment for diesease)?
Do patients who are terminally ill have the right to decide how and when they die?

Phase IV: Presentation and Class Discussion

Your presentation to the class should be informative, covering all the information you gained during the research phase. Use your group roles to help you delegate duties, with each person doing one section of the presentation. You may use powerpoint or other visual aids.

During this part of the presentation, you will pose questions to the class, ask for opinions and insights from your classmates. Your presentation and discusssion should be approximately 25 minutes (half the class period)

 

Assessment

Group Grading	Points	Notes
Accurately explores the science issues related to topic. Explains the procedures or capabilities within a scientific context	1 2 3 4 5
Accurately explores the current legal guidelines regarding the topic, explores possible future laws	1 2 3 4 5
Examines all sides of the issues and explores the social ramifications	1 2 3 4 5
Survey examines community thoughts and feelings in a meaningful way	1 2 3 4 5
Presentation is sequenced and easy to follow, group members seem knowledgeable.	1 2 3 4 5
Discussion questions meaningful, class is engaged, group encourages class to examine the issue in depth by asking leading questions	1 2 3 4 5
Total

Individual Grade	Points	Notes
Team member shared in responsibilities	1 2 3 4 5
Team member participated in all discussions	1 2 3 4 5
Total