LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this lecture, the student should:

1. Understand the definition of bioethics and its development

throughout the years;
2. Know the 4 principles of bioethics;
3. Be familiarized with the scopes of bioethics and;
4. Be informed of the major bioethical issues.
 BIOETHICS
Ethics - the branch of The term “bioethics” was introduced in
philosophy which deals the 70’s by Van Rensselaer Potter for
with moral aspects of a study aiming at ensuring the
preservation of the biosphere.
human behavior.

Bioethics can be defined as From Greek words

that discipline dealing with
ethical issues raised by new
“Bios” – Life
developments in medicine “Ethos” – Behavior
and biological science.
 BIOETHICS
Bioethicists are concerned Bioethics also helps establish
with the ethical questions a common ground for
that arise in the different views, the
relationships among life democratic process being
sciences, biotechnology, facilitated by the principle of
medicine, political law, and
philosophy. It includes the giving equal and fair
study of values relating to consideration to all sides or
primary care and other aspects of a given issue
branches of medicine. concerning human, animal or
environmental rights.
 BIOETHICS
In the past (about 50 Bioethics, born out of the rapidly
years ago), bioethics was expanding technical environment of
used to solve simple
ethical problems using the 1900s, is a specific domain of
Hippocrates postulates ethics focused on moral issues in the
and Christian humanism field of health care
During World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt assembled a
committee to improve medical scientists’ coordination in addressing the
medical needs of the military. As often happens with wartime research
and advancements, the work aimed at addressing military needs also
affected civilian sectors, such as the field of medicine.
BIOETHICS TIMELINE
 BIOETHICAL PRINCIPLES
Autonomy Beneficence
The rights of the individual to Healthcare providers must act
make decisions regarding their in the best interest of the
own health must be respected. patients.

Non-Maleficence Justice
Healthcare provides must not Patients should share (more or
hurt their patients. “First, do no less) equally in the costs and
harm.” benefits of the healthcare system.
 SCOPE OF BIOETHICS
The scope of bioethics has expanded to include the ethical
questions raised by:

1. Human Genome Project

2. Stem Cell Research
3. Assisted Reproductive Technologies
4. Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis
5. The Synthesis of New Life-Forms (Synthetic Biology)
6. The Possibility of Successful Reproductive Cloning
 HUMAN GENOME PROJECT

The Human Genome

Project (HGP) was an The initial proposal for the
international project led “Human Genome Project” is
by the US Department considered to be the 1986
of Energy, National editorial by Renato Dulbecco.
Institutes of Health & He suggested that the
Welcome Trust (UK) fundamental problems related
launched in 1990 to to cancer can be addressed
map and sequence the by determining the sequence
human genome.
of the entire genome.
 GOALS OF HUMAN GENOME
PROJECT
• To identify all the genes in
human DNA.
• To develop a genetic
linkage map of human
genome.
• To obtain a physical map
of human genome.
• To develop technology for
the management of human
genome information.
• To know the function of genes.
• Determine the sequences of
the 3 billion chemical base
pairs that make up human
DNA.
• Store this information in public
databases.
• Develop tools for data analysis.
• Transfer related technologies to
the private sectors.
 STEM CELL RESEARCH
Stem cell research offers a great
promise for understanding basic
mechanisms of human development and
differentiation as well as hope for new
treatments for diseases such as
diabetes, spinal cord injury, Parkinson's
disease and myocardial infarction.
It can also be used to test different
substances like drugs and chemicals.
The most notable outcome of this
research is that in 2013, first time lab
grown meat is made from muscle cells
has been cooked and tasted.
 ASSISTED REPRODUCTIVE
TECHNOLOGIES
Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) includes all fertility
treatments in which both eggs and embryos are handled.

In general, ART procedures involve surgically removing eggs from a

woman’s ovaries, combining them with sperm in the laboratory, and
returning them to the woman’s body or donating them to another
woman.

They do NOT include treatments in which only sperm are handled

(i.e., intrauterine—or artificial—insemination) or procedures in which a
woman takes medicine only to stimulate egg production without the
intention of having eggs retrieved.
 PRE-IMPLANTATION GENETIC
DIAGNOSIS
Pre-implantation Genetic
Diagnosis (PGD) is an
evolving technique that
provides a practical
alternative to prenatal
diagnosis and termination
of pregnancy for couples
who are at substantial
risk of transmitting
serious genetic disorder
to their offspring.
PGD provides an alternative
way forward, not only for
couples at risk of having a
child with a severe or life
threatening abnormality, but
also for couples who are
unable to establish a viable
pregnancy due to miscarriage
caused by chromosome
rearrangements.
 SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY
Synthetic biology (Synbio)
broadly refers to the use
of computer-assisted,
biological engineering to
design and construct new
synthetic biological parts,
devices and systems that
do not exist in nature and
the redesign of existing
biological organisms.
It differs from recombinant DNA
technology in that synthetic
biology introduces synthetically
constructed parts and is not
limited to the modification of
natural organisms.
Construction of new life forms
with no natural counterpart.
 REPRODUCTIVE CLONING
Human reproductive cloning would
Reproductive cloning is also threaten the psychological well-
the production of a being of cloned children, open the
genetic duplicate of an door to more powerful genetic
existing organism. A
manipulation technologies, and raise
human clone would be
a genetic copy of an other social and ethical concerns.
existing person. Some
oppose reproductive Animal cloning is seldom successful,
cloning because of and many scientists believe that
safety considerations. reproductive cloning can never be
made safe.
 ISSUES IN BIOETHICS
With the continuous advancements in biology and medical
sciences, there are many bioethical issues that simultaneously
arise. The five (5) major issues are according to the following:

1. Abortion
2. Euthanasia
3. Eugenics
4. Human Cloning
5. Stem Cell Research
 ABORTION
Abortion is the removal
of a fetus or embryo
from a woman's uterus
resulting in the
termination of a
pregnancy.

The controversy over

abortion is actually a
greater debate over
when life truly begins.
Pro-choice bioethicists place
emphasis on the ability of a
woman to have power over her
own body while anti-choice
supporters believe life begins at
conception.

As the public and political

debates over abortion are
overwhelmed by religious
beliefs, pro - life bioethicists are
generally secular in their
reasons and merely view a
fetus as a human life.
 EUTHANASIA

Euthanasia refers to the

act of purposefully Supporters of euthanasia view the
ending a life to eliminate course of action as a relief to
untreatable suffering. It unnecessary suffering if a patient it
brings up the question of going to succumb to an incurable
what constitutes a life disease either way. However,
worth preserving and opponents view life as sacred and
what lengths should be fear a slippery slope into allowing
taken to preserve said treatable patients to die of their own
life. will.
 EUGENICS
Eugenics is a type of
DNA manipulation
that creates selective
breeding to improve
the human race.
Bioethicists who
support gene
selection obviously
want to see the
advancement of the
species along with
the extinction of
certain genetic
diseases.
However, critics are worried about the
slippery slope that could occur. Since
eugenics has been associated and
discredited by the Nazis radical
experiments to achieve an Aryan race,
many opponents worry that one race will
be deemed inferior and eradicated.

This of course is the extreme argument,

but opponents debate that eugenics
could lead to discrimination against
certain races, disabled individuals, or
even hair color.
 HUMAN CLONING
Human cloning is the scientific
production of an identical human
cell, tissue, or entire body.
Bioethicists that support human
cloning see the benefits of
regenerative medicine in terms of
organ or tissue donation. This
would eliminate the risk of a body
rejecting a transplant and the
issue of scarcity of organs and
tissues to be donated.
Critics fear that the process
will produce an onslaught of
severely disabled children
since the cloning process has
not been perfected. As well,
they fear that cloning humans
for their body parts will
produce human farming and
the killing of clones for their
vital organs
STEM CELL RESEARCH
Stem cells are capable of
multiplying themselves
through mitotic cell division
and embryonic stem cells
even possess the ability to
differentiate into a range of
specialized cell types.

This makes them incredibly

valuable to disease research. The
controversy surrounds the use of
these embryonic cells.
Supporters see the potential this
research has in curing diseases such
as Parkinson's Disease. As well, the
majority of embryos used for
research are left over from in-vitro
fertility treatments and are on their
way to being destroyed anyways.

However, most of the opponents are

also pro-life on abortion. They see
the embryos as the potential for new
life and destruction of such embryos
as the destruction of life.
 Other Ethical Issues
• AIDS - issues involving disclosure, privacy,
discrimination, insurance coverage

• Health Care Allocation - How do we decide who gets

access to health care, particularly expensive
equipment and therapies? How do we decide who
gets access to transplanted organs? Should the
government pay for the health care when a person
cannot afford it?
 Other Ethical Issues
• Population Control - Who has the right to decide
who should have children and how many? What
measures should be taken to control the population
of the world?
• Minors and Medicines - What medical procedures
should minors have available to them without
parental consent? Do doctors have an obligationto
inform parents of conditions a teen has (pregnancy,
AIDS) even if the teen does not wish it?
 Other Ethical Issues
• Environmental Issues - How do we decide between
conservation and economic interest. How much land
should be allocated to other species and to parks?
Should industries be responsible for the damage done
to the environment by them (pollution)?

• Animal Right Issues - Is animal testing acceptable

when it benefits humans? Does animal research be
justified by its benefits to mankind?
ANY QUESTIONS?
Feel free to ask.
 REFERENCES
• https://www.slideshare.net/Azharudeeen/bioethics-81276479?qid=714b3c8d-5051-4c69-8b1d-
d135578fb504&v=&b=&from_search=46
• http://samples.jbpub.com/9781284059502/Chapter_2_Sample.pdf
• https://www.slideshare.net/CorbettHall/bioethics-session-1-right-to-life
• https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1001
&context=center_for_bioethics_resources
• https://www.slideshare.net/Yuvarajneelakandan1/human-genome-project-and-elsi
• https://www.slideshare.net/gurya87/stem-cell-research-related-ethical-issues
• https://www.cdc.gov/art/whatis.html
• https://www.nature.com/articles/nrg953
• https://www.shecares.com/
• https://www.slideshare.net/ijazm4u/synthetic-biology-56600550
• https://www.phgfoundation.org/infographic/what-is-synbio