What is bioethics?
Ethics is about what we ought or ought not to do. Bioethics is one branch of ethics. Since the 1970s the term has been used to refer to the study of ethical issues arising from the biological and medical sciences.
According to the Encyclopedia of Bioethics (1995. p. 250) it encompasses: "the broad terrain of the moral problems of the life sciences, ordinarily taken to encompass medicine, biology, and some important aspects of the environmental, population and social sciences. The traditional domain of medical ethics would be included within this array, accompanied now by many other topics and problems."
It is sometimes said that science moves so quickly that ethics has difficulty in keeping up. Just because something is technically possible does not mean that should be done. It is crucial that ethical, legal and social issues raised by the introduction of a new technology are considered from an early stage. By bringing together ethical analysis and scientific understanding, society can evaluate policies and regulate developments.
The Nuffield Council on Bioethics aims to anticipate developments in medicine and biology before problems arise, providing independent and timely advice to assist policy makers and stimulate debate in bioethics.
The study of bioethics includes topics such as:
- Genetic testing and screening
- reproductive and therapeutic cloning
- the use of stem cells
- embryo research
- abortion
- assisted reproduction
- prenatal screening
- end-of-life issues including euthanasia
- the use of human tissue
- organ donation
- xenotransplanation,
- the use of animals in research,
- genetically modified crops
- research with human subjects
- the ethics of research related to healthcare in developing countries
- patenting DNA
- pharmacogenetics
- patient confidentiality
- resource allocation.
Last Updated Thu, 2 September 2004