Free Essay

Bioethics

In:

Submitted By chrisdorth
Words 507
Pages 3
Bioethics includes every ethical question linking and pertaining to medicine and the health of living things. Everything from all aspects of nursing to euthanasia to pain killers, and from the arguments about abortion to the law of malpractice is included when using the term bioethics. Bioethics is a wide-ranging, very broad category of ethics. The issue of bio-ethics presents numerous new dilemmas. The majority of these issues stem from the introduction of new, genetically-engineered organisms. These organisms, or at least many of them, are created in laboratories, by cloning and gene modification. Scientists are creating these organisms as they want them all while causing controversy.
The bioethical industry consists of a group of small start-up companies, mainly funded by capital money and other gainful corporations. Biotechnology was first created by these companies because most of the bigger, more established science and pharmaceutical corporations thought that biotechnology would never be successful. The bigger pharmaceutical corporations did not capitalize in technology in the beginning. Together with scientists started the bulk of biotech corporations, and as a result, a lot of what was traditional in the pharmaceutical business has been transformed. This happens often when new people and new technology are brought about especially in today’s industry. In more advanced countries where genetically engineered disputes may arise, the developments have total protection through exclusive rights and other supervisory agencies. These issues arise from identification of the newfound bioengineered organisms, and this approach allows the engineering and entrepreneurs to recuperate from the immense costs involved in the research and development of genetic engineering. It endorses the development of products to profit society, and it permits access for a greater genetic bank for studies, testing, and exploration. There is an additional side to all of this where the scientists can set an extreme price for their product while excluding any rivalry for a particular period of time. It allows for duplicates of living things to be prepared simply and economically. This only happens outside the United States, where stringent guidelines are not used. No nations spend any financial amount equal to the over 300 million dollars to use the patent and trademark office, as the United States does. Many nations have the opinion that these genetic products are not intellectual property, and are not subject to the conventional patent laws. They should not belong to society just like any other living organism that has evolved through the natural processes. No matter which aspect of the bioethical issue is being evaluated, the argument continues throughout the field. The amounts of these problems keeps rising as science advances; nevertheless, it is not soon that we will see the resolution of a very small percentage of these problems regardless of the continuously changing amount of them. Whenever a new medicine or technology is developed for use in the health care community, bioethical questions are raised and answers are demanded and debated, and hopefully answered eventually. In past months, there has been much heated debate over many issues that bioethics encompass.

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Bioethics

...Bioethics Ramona (Campbell) Haggard Bioethics, by definition, is the ethics of medical and biological research. There are a number of bioethical issues that are being carefully addressed as they arise. Some are easily remedied and some still remain very controversial. In this paper we will explore the use of genetic trait testing, access to genetic information as well as the issue of vaccinating or not. With regards to bioethical related data the accessing, storing, gathering, and sharing medical data for the purpose of using the data for the scientific purpose of research is still a controversial issue in the scientific community. There is no basic problem with sharing medical data electronically, with the implementation of EHR, electronic health records. However, there is yet to be formal ethical guidelines established for the use of this data in the biological sciences community. There have been guidelines introduced for developing ethical principles with the ultimate goal of winning over the scientific community to incorporate the use of this data into their existing code of ethics. The scientific community has an obligation to share this data, if permitted by the patient, for research purposes. It also can be a major factor that could increase the trust of the public with regards to scientific research. Society also had concerns about employers having access to genetic information. (Duke & Porter, 2013) With the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of...

Words: 865 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

History of Bioethics

...Etymology[edit] The term Bioethics (Greek bios, life; ethos, behavior) was coined in 1926 by Fritz Jahr, who "anticipated many of the arguments and discussions now current in biological research involving animals" in an article about the "bioethical imperative," as he called it, regarding the scientific use of animals and plants.[1] In 1970, the American biochemist Van Rensselaer Potter also used the term with a broader meaning including solidarity towards the biosphere, thus generating a "global ethics," a discipline representing a link between biology, ecology, medicine and human values in order to attain the survival of both human beings and other animal species.[2][3] Purpose and scope[edit] The field of bioethics has addressed a broad swathe of human inquiry, ranging from debates over the boundaries of life (e.g. abortion, euthanasia), surrogacy, the allocation of scarce health care resources (e.g. organ donation, health care rationing) to the right to refuse medical care for religious or cultural reasons. Bioethicists often disagree among themselves over the precise limits of their discipline, debating whether the field should concern itself with the ethical evaluation of all questions involving biology and medicine, or only a subset of these questions.[4] Some bioethicists would narrow ethical evaluation only to the morality of medical treatments or technological innovations, and the timing of medical treatment of humans. Others would broaden the scope of ethical evaluation...

Words: 967 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Bioethics

...Bioethics Name Institutional Affiliation Health practitioners are faced with many ethical issues. These issues are very challenging and occur on a daily basis. Some of the issues are controversial because they leave people with many thoughts and ideas either in support or against. Some of these issues have an impact in the society which is either negative or positive. This is because they have helped the society and the legal system and the health care system. This is because they value life and their main aim is to protect the life and well being of people in all aspects. This will be an analysis of ethical issues and their relation to the cycle of life. The cycle begins from beginning of life, to sustaining and improving quality of life and ends with death and dying. In each cycle there are controversial issues involved (Meilaender, 2013). In the beginning of life there are various ethical issues that are relating to it. They are family planning, abortion and prenatal ethics. This paper will only focus on abortion. It is described as the intentional termination of a pregnancy before a baby is born. To many people, it is termed as an unethical practice. It is said that abortion is first degree murder and anyone caught in the act should be prosecuted. The main problem is that health care practitioners are the ones who help women have abortions. They do this criminal act at a small fee. This shows that both the person having the abortion and the health care practitioner...

Words: 972 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Bioethics

...International NGO Journal Vol. 3 (12), pp. 224-231, December, 2008 Available online at http:// www.academicjournals.org/INGOJ ISSN 1993–8225 © 2008 Academic Journals Article Euthanasia – A dignified end of life! Vaibhav Goel Faculty of Law Addis Ababa University Addis Ababa Ethiopia. E-mail: vaibhav_hnlu@yahoo.co.in. Accepted 27, October 2008 Survival is undoubtedly valuable but some time and in certain condition life becomes painful and impossible or unbearable, in that stage survilance seems, like a curse or abuse. Euthanasia – a new word for masses become common about four years back in the month of December 2004 because of Venkatesh plea for granting him right to die. Euthanasia is nothing else but a permit or license to the medical professional for ending the life of a person in question. No doubt if it will be permitted in laws, may be the biggest threat to the creature. In fact the concept is debatable; here the key question is “What should be the ingredients of law which would legalize Euthanasia?” Hence the purpose of writing this paper is to examine the questions pertaining to Euthanasia, especially in the light of traditional perspective besides legal dimensions of MTP and to suggest legal aspects of the same to make life with dignity even at the time of end. In addition the second key question may be that if it permitted weather it will be on the recommendation of the doctors or in the consent of the relative of the Patient? Keywords: Euthanasia, PAS, Suicide...

Words: 6788 - Pages: 28

Premium Essay

Bioethics of Frankenstein

...Stephen Lee Ms. Allison English 1020 11 December 2013 The Bioethics of Frankenstein There are no terminal diseases or people suffering from being paralyzed, medical technology and science have advanced to incredible heights. A woman is crippled by the loss of her five year old child, but she can go to the a medical facility and use his DNA to have a clone made, the same exact little boy she just lost; a football player was in a bad car wreck and is now paralyzed, his life revolves around his favorite sport that he can no longer play, again with science he can be healed, scientist use stem cells to repair his spinal cord, he is back in the game. This may sound amazing, but it comes with its luggage, a very high cost, other lives, more specifically human lives. With stem cell research and cloning can fix many problems, but the ways to make this possible requires human life in the form of embryos. Not only that but having the power to chose who lives and who dies is a power no human should have, that is a power reserved only for God himself. According to Merriam-Webster, bioethics is the ethics of life and biology, in the context of this paper, it is the ethics of creating and altering life. It deals with the ethics and implications of stem cells, In Vitro Fertilization, cloning and related issues. For years cloning and reviving organisms have been the imagination of writers and directors and dreams of scientists, but now, those dreams are possible with science and technology...

Words: 1691 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Christian Bioethical Issues

...Bioethics provides a corrective agenda for the whole range of moral demands and disputes surrounding the life sciences relating to human beings, wildlife, and the environment. Rapid improvements in the natural sciences and technology powers us with the ability to manipulate human life and have seriously aided better living conditions and amplified the standard of life for people universally. Conflictingly, there are detrimental consequences, such as nuclear waste, as well as certain advances such as gene technology and cloning, have caused suspicions and uncertainty regarding the future of human beings. As Christian stewards of the modern era, we need to assess situations about all bioethical concerns through proper representation of Christian...

Words: 991 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Ethics in Nursing

...accordance with ethical and legal issues (Pinch & Haddad, 2008).  Nursing professionals participated as member of the health team, the actions aiming to meet the health needs of the population and defense of the principles of public health and environmental policies that ensure universal access to health services, comprehensive assistance, resolution, preserving the autonomy of individuals, community participation, prioritization and political and administrative decentralization of health services. The nursing professionals respect life, dignity and human rights in all of their dimensions. The nursing professional has operations responsible for the promotion of the human being in its entirety, in accordance with the principles of ethics and bioethics (Beauchamp, 1990). Case Study At 85, Mrs. Anderson, with stage four cancer of the colon, is now unable to meet with activities of daily living after the death of her husband. She is currently living with her 36 year old son, Mark who is a single parent, with three teenage children. Because of the increase demand of care that Mrs. Anderson needed, her son did not have any choice than to take her in. Mark did not...

Words: 1692 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Patients Right to Die

...11/7/2015 Patient Rights Today in the twenty-first century, it is a given that patients have certain rights including the right to receive or refuse medical treatments. The common question is, should they also have the right to be allowed to die? This decision presents many concerns regarding ethical dilemmas for the health providers that are involved. In 1973, Donald "Dax" Cowart was 25 years old when he was critically injured in an explosion, sustaining severe burns on over 65 percent of his body (Hillard01, 2011). Dax underwent daily skin treatments that were described as cruel, agonizing and barbaric while only receiving low doses of pain medications (Burt, 1998). He refused all medical care and begged to his doctors as well as other hospital personnel continuously, to let him die (Hillard01, 2011). Doctors felt he was incompetent to make his medical decisions and accepted his mother's written consent to continue his medical care against his will (McGee, 1997). He is now blind, has no use of his hands, and has severe disfiguration (Burt, 1998). Dax has to have a personal caregiver living with him at all times, to assist him with his personal functions (McGee, 1997). In the Dax Cowart case, his mother and doctors both acted in a paternalistic manner, ignoring Dax's wishes and doing what they felt was in the best interest for him. Doctors felt he was incompetent to make his own medical decisions and accepted his mother's written consent to continue his medical...

Words: 749 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Paul Root Wolpe: It's Time To Question Bio-Engineering?

...Dr. Paul Root Wolpe, a vanguard in the field of bioethics questions the ethical ramifications of bio-engineering in his TED Talk, “ Paul Root Wolpe: It’s time to question bio-engineering” November 2010. In his talk Dr. Wolpe focuses on explaining the rapid and mostly uninhibited advancements in bio-engineering and the ethical implications of these discoveries without giving his opinion on the topic. This is done intentionally, as the purpose of his talk is to get the listener to consider these questions themselves. Dr. Wolpe is a professor of medicine, sociology and pediatrics whose work focuses on the social, religious, ethical, and ideological impact of technology on humans. He is the current director of the Center for Ethics at Emory University...

Words: 626 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Ethical Issues

...Case Study Harvesting Dead Girl's Eggs Raises Ethical Issues After a 17 year old Israeli girl passed away August 3rd, 2011 10 days after being in a horrible car accident, an Israeli court has granted her parents permission to freeze her eggs. Her parents’ initial request was for the eggs to be fertilized with sperm that was donated, but judges declined the suggestion until the family could prove that Chen had wanted to have children. Although the family could prove that the girl did indeed want children, the ethical question was whether or not said girl wanted her children to come to earth after her death. Rosamond Rhodes, director of bioethics education at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York made a point that although the girl did want children, it was never specified if she wanted her children raised by someone else- most people don’t like the idea of that. Along with that question, a few more arise. Consider you were the child. A few of your questions would be, “Who is my mother?” “How I was I conceived after she died.” “Why was I conceived after her death?” Laurie Zoloth commented “"The fact that sperm has been used this way, for the same tragic reasons, is not an ethical justification.” (Conley, 2011) HIPPA could be considered violated when doctors try to add sperm to the eggs, considering the women that the eggs belong to has passed away and doctors do not have written nor verbal consent to use them. The families values seem to differ from most in the world...

Words: 690 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Behavioral Organization

...Zaka Mahmood Ethical Concepts in Health Care Davenport University HLTH 230 Patricia Spiegel Abstract Primary health care as we see is an essential base of building our health system. Advanced development and new tools must consist of operational and supportive relations with the primary health care, along with recommending arrangements to ensure the population of their coverage as to their relevant needs, and be dependable with ethical guidelines linked to the public’s health and the health care. Heading The task of this presentation is to collaborate different issues. Consisting of new development in the health sector, critically providing more effective and indifferent health care along with an improving attitude towards the health population, mainly in developing countries. Primary health care as we see is an essential base of building our health system. Advanced development and new tools must consist of operational and supportive relations with the primary health care, along with recommending arrangements to ensure the population of their coverage as to their relevant needs, and be dependable with ethical guidelines linked to the public’s health and the health care. Most importantly, we would not like for the various advances health sector to utilize helplessly or isolate them self’s from one another, but take the effort to interact and advance complementary components of systems that have a global integrated nature. Now, we redirect to the three set of sources...

Words: 1975 - Pages: 8

Free Essay

Hi There

...made for, and against, “surrogacy for hire” agreements. What are some of the ways the practice has been defended. What are some of the ethical criticisms of surrogacy (see much available online). Which do you think are the most convincing arguments? In presenting your own position, make an effort to respond to the claims of the opposition. 3) Many of the same ethical questions surrounding surrogate motherhood also appear in recent debates regarding other “reproductive technologies” (unauthorized use of eggs/embryos, research exploitation of desperate potential parents, consent agreements, “custody” fights over egg/sperm, freezing eggs, lack of review board oversight, etc.). Imagine yourself as a member of a national “Bioethics Review Committee” charged with making recommendations regarding these new technologies. Write a “position paper” reviewing what you consider to be the most important ethical concerns in this debate, and suggesting acceptable guidelines. 4) In light of the arguments presented in Pence’s article (in form of a handout) on severely impaired newborns (handout), the video on the Dutch...

Words: 433 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Stuff

...research, and the goal of this article was to inform you of how placebos work and if they are effective. W. Grant Thompson, MD. The Placebo Effect and Health: Combining Science and Compassionate Care. Amherst, New York. Prometheus Books, 2005 This book was useful it was a whole book focused on how placebos were used, worked and different concepts to it, this source is different due it being something directly talking about m topic. Yes the source is reliable, and this source is objective, and the goal of this source was to inform how placebos come with many scientific concepts and reasoning. Miller, `Franklin G, and Luana Colloca. “The Legitimacy of Placebos treatments in clinical practice: evidence and ethics”. The American Journal of Bioethics. AJOB9 no.12 December 2009; 39-47. MEDLINE, EBSCOhost, Oct. 23,2011. Classical Library “Psychotherapy”. 1985. 22, 163-169. In Understanding Psychotherapy: Fifty years of Client- centered Theory and Practice. PCCS Books.2000 “Placebo”. The Gale Encyclopedia of Science. Ed. K Lee and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner 4th Vol. Detroit. Gale, 2008. P.3325-3346 Gale Virtual Reference Library Web. Oct 23, 2011. Classical Library. < http://go.galegroup/ps/i.do?&id=GALE%7CCX2830101798&v=2.1&u=prov93408&it=r&p=GVRL&sw=w Brody, Howard. “Placebo Effect”. Encyclopedia of Science and Religion. Ed J, Wentzel Vrede van Huyssteen Vol. 2 New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2003. 676-679 Gale Virtual Reference. Web Oct. 23, 2011...

Words: 443 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Mrs Rana Hijazi

...Week 5: Confidentiality and Bioethical Issues (Nov 20 - Nov 27) Welcome to Week 5! This week, we discuss issues related to bioethics. Since the time of Hippocrates, “First Do No Harm” has been the medical mandate. It is the basic concept that drives all of the codes of ethics for the health professions. The concept is one of the first you learn in school. From this comes the duty to make ethical decisions “in the best interest of the patient.” While all medical professionals would agree that this is the goal, not all would agree on exactly what IS the best interest of the patient in a given situation. Healthcare workers—and specifically physicians—work hard to save lives. Many times, death is seen as a medical failure. Health professionals go to great lengths to preserve life with the assumption that saving the life—at all costs—is in the best interest of all patients. In the past, if that left the patient paralyzed or in a vegetative coma, it was still success - they were alive. Today, this assumption is being reconsidered as patients themselves demand to decide for themselves what is in their own best interest. Of particular interest is Oregon law which states, "an adult who is capable and has been determined by the attending doctor to be suffering from a terminal disease, and who has voluntarily expressed his or her wish to die, may make a written request for medication for the purpose of ending his or her life in a humane and dignified manner." In short, the patient can...

Words: 1983 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Busn 460

...Resource Review: Resource Review-5 Sources Samuel Bakos DeVry University G.Nikhita Reddy#1, G. R. (2013). Effects of Wireless Electricity on Human Bodies. International Journal Of Engineering Trends And Technology, (6), 2567 In this part of the report I will be researching the ethical concerns society has with the introduction of wireless electricity. One of the main ethical concerns we have about wireless electricity is how will it affect the human body. This article details the different resistant levels men and women have to wireless electricity, as well as the difference resistant each body part may or may not have. Weckert, J., & Hoven, J. d. (2008). Information Technology and Moral Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press In this section of my paper I will use this resource that goes into detail of how technological advances need to be monitored almost like children to make sure they develop correctly. This resource covers the ethical concerns an emerging technology will undergo during its lifecycle. As a product goes through its lifecycle stages the ethics that relate to the technology need to evolve with the technology. Ling, R. & McEwen, R. (2010) ―Mobile communication and ethics: implications of everyday actions on social order‖, Nordic Journal of Applied Ethics - Special issue on mobile/ubiquitous computing, Norway, Vol 4, No 2. This article will be used as a point of reference for how the morals of mobile technology have changed social...

Words: 489 - Pages: 2