1. Bioethics 101
Day 1

2. Our goals
Recognize ethical questions
Assess the facts and listen to multiple viewpoints
Make a reasoned judgement

3. Classroom rules for discussions
Be respectful listeners
Consider others' viewpoints

4. What is bioethics?
Ethics: a field of study that provides a systematic, rational way to work through dilemmas and to determine the best course of action in the face of conflicting choices.
"Why do we act as we do?"
"How do we decide what to do when people disagree about a complex issue?"
Bioethics: ethics applied to life sciences

5. What is an "ethical question"?
Usually involve "ought" or "should"
Conflicting moral choices
Underlying values of people involved may clash
Multiple solutions
No right or wrong answer that satisfies everyone
Better or worse answers based on reasoned justification

6. Which are ethical questions?
Is it legal to sell human kidneys in the US?
How does a kidney function inside the human body?
What does my religion say about whether or not it is acceptable to donate a kidney?
Should individuals who donate a kidney choose who the organ goes to?
What type of diet allows for the best athletic performance?

7. Which are ethical questions? (cont.)
Is killing someone always illegal?
Should people select the sex of their child in advance?
Are same-sex marriages constitutional?
What is the most appropriate way to worship?
Do kidneys taste good?

8. What type of question is this?
Who should be saved during a flu outbreak when there is not enough life-saving vaccine available for everybody?

9. Flu Pandemic! Please read the scenario in the workbook
Make your individual choice about how the vaccine should be distributed
Pay attention to HOW you make each decision
We will talk through your choices in a moment

10. Common approaches ("societal standards")
Save the youngest
Draw straws
Save the weakest
Save the most useful
Respect relationships

11. What are the facts of the flu scenario?
The need for facts
When considering any ethical question, it's important to examine the available facts and assess what additional information is needed.
What are the facts of the flu scenario?

12. Does this change any of your answers?
What if...?
The senior citizen is primary caretaker for eight of her grandchildren.
The mother refusing treatment is in her 60s. The son is in his 40s.
The doctor is a podiatrist ("foot doctor")
The woman who thinks she is pregnant has been married to the nurses aide for about a year. They have no children.
Does this change any of your answers?

13. Ethical questions arise when...
Individual
Individual
Individual
Individual
Individual
Individual

14. Science has ethical implications
Should parents be able to genetically select offspring that will be a perfect donor match (blood, bone marrow, etc) for other sick offspring?
Should we allow embryos left over from in vitro fertilization clinics to be destroyed for stem cell research, if they would otherwise be discarded?
Should people be allowed to use genetic engineering to choose favorable traits for their offspring?
Should we clone human beings?

15. Our goals
Recognize ethical questions
Assess the facts and listen to multiple viewpoints
Make a reasoned judgement

16. Homework Find a news article that involves ethics and science
Identify and write down an ethical question
Potential ideas
stem cells
GMOs
human experimentation
cloning