PERCEPTION OF MODERN MEDICAL ETHICAL ISSUES BY NON-MEDICAL SCIENCE GRADUATES M.A.Jothi Rajan Arul Anandar College, Karumathur , India. THE EIGHTH ASIAN BIOETHICS CONFERENCE (ABC 2007) MARCH 19-23,2007 CHULALONGKORN UNIVERSITY, BANGKOK, THAILAND

INTRODUCTION A mini debate was conducted on “Medical Ethics” for the final year undergraduate students of Physics course. A batch of 36 students (5 girls and 31 boys) in the age group of 18+ were divided into 15 groups. The topics for the debate were given two months prior to the conduct date, and relevant study materials were provided from different books on ethics, newspaper cuttings, internet web sites of Eubios Ethics Institute, internet web site of UNESCO Bangkok, and other relevant web sites. All the students were given to read the text book ‘ A CROSS CULTURAL INTRODUCTION TO BIOETHICS” (2005) edited by Dr. Darryl Macer.

TOPICS INCLUDED FOR THE DEBATE 1. Doctor- Patient relationship (2) 2. Surrogacy (2) 3. Euthanasia (3) 4. Human Cloning (4) 5. Animals are also moral beings(2) 6. Nursing- A noble Job (3) 7. AIDS in India (3) 8. Brain death (2) 9. Health for all by 2000AD (1) 10. Private hospitals (3) 11. Organ donation (2) 13. Medical care for pregnant women (3) 14. Government hospitals (2) 15. Altruism (1)

HOW THE TOPICS WERE SELECTED A Free hand was given to all the students to select a topic of their own Students came out with interest to select the topic appealing to them The mentor supplied relevant study materials and web page addresses to prepare for the debate

Doctor - Patient relationship The debate concluded with the message that the Doctor – Patient relationship should improve so that the cure is more of psychological than physical

Surrogacy It should be discouraged since it degrades human dignity However it is the moral responsibility of the spouses to decide on this issue

Euthanasia It is against the teachings of all the religions in the world It should not be legalized as it is the human tendency to err in times of terminal illness

Human Cloning It is against nature It is against the values of societies practiced by most of the people in the world Human dignity is in its peril

Animals are also moral beings This statement is partially true The usefulness of pet animals is a moral lesson for human beings Animal cruelty should be minimized

Nursing - A noble Job It is the fate of the person to become a nurse It is a curse to be a nurse To serve with smile should be the motto of the nurse

AIDS in India It is a major concern for all the participants It is good to encourage safe sex and educate the youth about the harm full effects of unsafe sex

Brain death This should be avoided by nurturing the disease even in the early stages

Health for all by 2000AD It is a reality if we adopt native medicines in addition to the allopathic medicines The state is responsible for the poor implementation of the wonderful policy

Private hospitals There should be high control over the functioning of private hospitals by the state There should be perfect billing and high transparency

Organ donation It is decided to form organ donors club after getting all the information's and procedures from the state

Medical care for pregnant women This is the need of the hour Free medical treatment should be given right from the day of conception

Government hospitals Should be fully furnished Availability of 24 hours service

Altruism This is natural This can also be nurtured No clear cut decision

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Prof. T. Mathavan, Head, Dept Of Physics NMSSVN college, Nagamalai, Madurai