Biomedical Ethics

This course investigates ethical assumptions and problems in medicine, nursing, biomedical research and engineering. Readings are philosophical and theological, and we evaluate a host of perspectives on issues and cases. We first consider accounts of human life and biological evolution and how they bear on our understanding of God and neighbor. We then examine some key definitions, virtues, and principles. Next we address these topics: assisted reproduction, genetic control, abortion, euthanasia and the right to die, informed consent, paternalism, confidentiality, just allocation of scarce resources, limits on research protocols, and cloning.