Bioethics

Key people

• Peter SingerAustralian moral philosopher (born 1946)
• Elio SgrecciaCatholic cardinal (1928–2019)
• Princess Claire of LuxembourgGerman bioethics researcher
• Lucien SèveFrench philosopher and political activist (1926–2020)

Timeline

• 1970Many scholars consider that bioethics arose in response to a perceived lack of accountability in medical care in the 1970s.

Read

• Bibliography of BioethicsLeRoy Walters · 1975Book
• BioethicsMegan-Jane Johnstone · 1989Book
• Feminism & BioethicsSusan M. Wolf · 1996Book
• Bioethics and Moral DecisionsFlorentino T. Timbreza · 1997Book

Watch

• Introduction to Bioethics: Bioethics & the Human BodyThe Kennedy Institute of EthicsVideo
• What is bioethics? | Philosophy, Medicine, and Clinical EthicsUniversity of OregonVideo
• Introduction to Bioethics: Bioethics at the BedsideThe Kennedy Institute of EthicsVideo

Listen

• Bioethics for the PeopleDevan Stahl and Tyler GibbPodcast
• playing god?Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of BioethicsPodcast
• The Bioethics PodcastThe Center for Bioethics & Human DignityPodcast
• NYU Center for BioethicsNYU Center for BioethicsPodcast

Voices to follow

• Jiankui He@Jiankui_He · XChinese biophysicist (1984-)

Debates

• Should germline gene editing be permitted to prevent inherited diseases?One view: It could eliminate debilitating genetic conditions for future generations, improving human health. · Another: It raises concerns about unintended consequences, 'designer babies,' and potential societal inequalities.Open question
• Is physician-assisted suicide ethically justifiable for terminally ill patients?One view: It respects patient autonomy and provides a dignified option to end unbearable suffering. · Another: It may devalue human life, pressure vulnerable individuals, and conflict with the medical oath to preserve life.Open question
• Should organs be presumed for donation unless an individual opts out (opt-out system)?One view: It could significantly increase the availability of organs, saving more lives. · Another: It infringes on individual autonomy and may not respect diverse cultural or religious beliefs.Open question

Glossary

• AutonomyThe right of individuals to make their own informed choices about their medical care.
• BeneficenceThe ethical principle of acting in the best interest of the patient or research subject.
• Non-maleficenceThe ethical principle that healthcare providers and researchers must 'do no harm.'
• JusticeThe fair distribution of healthcare resources, benefits, and burdens across society.
• Informed ConsentA patient's voluntary agreement to a medical procedure or research after understanding its risks, benefits, and alternatives.
• CRISPRA gene-editing technology that allows scientists to precisely modify DNA sequences within living cells.

Careers

Roles this can lead toward

Student research

Published policy papers by One Young India delegates — every delegate leaves published under their own name.

• The Philadelphia Experiment: Deconstruction of a Military Myth and PseudoscienceDwij Verma

Threads 4

Where this connects to other fields — and why it's worth knowing.

• Global Governance & Collective Action Global Risks

  Say one country decides it's fine to genetically upgrade its babies. Rivals now feel they can't afford to fall behind, so they follow, and suddenly there's a race to redesign humans. There's no world government acting as referee to blow the whistle, which is what makes this so hard to stop.

• Inequality & Class Sociology

  If designing smarter, healthier babies costs a fortune, only rich families could buy the upgrade. Then today's gap between rich and poor wouldn't just be about money; it would be baked into people's genes and passed down forever. Inequality could become biological and permanent, locked into the family line.

• Rights & Liberties Law

  Change a gene in an embryo and that edit rides on into its kids, and their kids, forever. But those future people can't say yes or no, because they don't exist yet. So a handful of scientists today would be making a permanent choice for millions who never get a vote.

• Ecosystem Tipping Points Environment

  A 'gene drive' is a trick that forces a chosen gene through an entire species, and it could wipe out the mosquitoes that spread malaria on purpose. That might save millions of lives, or it might yank a thread that unravels a whole food web. And there's no undo button once you release it.