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BIOETHICS.
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Examines difficult ethical issues in life extension, medical technology, in vitro fertilization, genetic engineering, epidemic work.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Examines difficult ethical issues in life extension, medical technology, in vitro fertilization, genetic engineering, epidemic work.

Paper Introduction:
Advances in medicine and biology offer great possibilities for future medical procedures and for entirely new procedures such as genetic splicing to create new forms of life for good or ill. These new possibilities bring with them great responsibility and require that experimentation and development in biology be conducted following ethical precepts. The issues raised are not simple and are not easily answered, making it all the more vital that critical thinking be developed and applied to issues of bioethics. It is necessary to apply critical thinking even to the determination of what underlying ethical structure to apply. There are those who believe that there is a natural law that is to be followed in making these decisions and that we have to be true to nature in making our ethical decisions, while others argue

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This shows that even something as seemingly simple astravel can become a bioethical issue in our increasingly interconnectedworld. Eric Holtzman relates that there are two poles to the debate overscientific ethical matters, with gradations between them. Cloning is such achallenge and raises ethical issues that have to be discussed long beforesuch research is undertaken. But often the qualityof that life is questionable and the cost of treatment phenomenal, as inthe case of a woman tethered to an artificial-nutrition IV in a Washington,D.C. Bankowskioffers definitions that help in clarifying the matter. Brownleewrites that many of those who have been told of the results of genetictesting "have already found that the price of glimpsing their medicalfuture is high indeed, and with the advent of each new genetic test moreand more Americans will face similar dilemmas" (Brownlee 57). Hereagain we must face the issue of whether simply because we can perform somemedical miracle we should do so. At the same time, with problemssuch as AIDS, the question of whether it is more right to disclose than toprotect privacy has been raised again and again: "Who owns geneticinformation? Critical thinking isvital in making these determinations and in analyzing the issues to findthe moral position in each case. Medical ethics specifically deals with those ethical principles governingprofessional conduct in medicine, and medical ethics impliesobligations of the physician toward the patient as well as some obligationstowards other physicians. "Ethics and Health." World Health (April 1989), 2-6.Brownlee, Shannon. The classicalpoint of view is expounded by researchers in "basic" natural science--thestudy of nature without an immediatepractical goal--who like to think of themselves as an autonomousintellectual community following agendas set by the internal history ofscience and adhering to principles of pluralism, openness, and competition,which are thought to assure"objectivity." By contrast, the "radical science" movement, and manyMarxists, emphasize that the pose of scientists as an autonomous groupproducing objective "knowledge" is illusory. At onelevel, the cloning of sheep could yield important benefits for medicine.However, the suggestion of human cloning raises important questions aboutgenetic diversity, human identity, and the exploitation of human genes(Schaeffer 3). He cites the resuscitation ofheart patients whose respiration has stopped functioning. Bioethics is a term distinguishing traditionalmedical ethics from ethical issues arising from recent progress in biologyand medicine. He also notes that the"numbers of articles in daily and professional journals bear witness to theimportance of the subject and society's preoccupation with it. What might seema natural medical procedure raises questions about the unconscious body inwhich respiration and blood circulation are artificially maintained--isthis still a living person or only a corpse with the appearance of life?In vitro fertilization offers the possibility of bringing children tochildless couples, but how do we determine who the parents are of a childresulting from in vitro fertilization of the egg taken from Mrs. A andsperm from Mr. B, implanted into the uterus of Mrs. C, and then offered toMr. Now, however, when we drink a cup of coffee we are affectingrain forests in Colombia. Ethicsis a set of principles of right conduct governing an individual or aprofessional group and includes the philosophy underlying those principles. These new possibilities bringwith them great responsibility and require that experimentation anddevelopment in biology be conducted following ethical precepts. . This apparent autonomyderives, they say, from the congruence of the career interests ofscientists and the economic interests of dominant social sectors. It should be kept in mind that there is no way to make a finaldetermination of the moral rights and wrongs possible in biology andmedicine because new issues are arising all the time. "The Assurances of Genes: Is Disease Prediction a Boon or a Nightmare?" U.S. Even greater manipulations are possible:"Genetic engineering is already capable of changing some inheritedcharacteristics, and genetic selection is feasible, based on prenataldiagnosis" (Bankowski 4). Heinrich alsoindicates that what we need now is a larger morality, one that is globalrather than local. The dilemma faced here shows how difficult thesedecisions can be--we may see the preservation of life as the highest good,but more and more people are asking about the quality of that life and towhat degree the wishes of the individual in the matter should beconsidered. In this case, "the woman lingered through 38years in persistent vegetative state. "Irreplaceable Ewe." The Nation (1997, March 24), 4-5.Phalon, Richard. Scientists have commented recently on the development of new and moredeadly diseases in different parts of the world and have puzzled over theorigins of some of these killers. Both the sperm and the fertilized ovum can befrozen and stored for later use. Furthermore, "our limited biological morality--which may be partially encoded in genes--concerns rules and behaviorrelative to our immediate fellow humans" (Heinrich 42). They are moral ones" (Heinrich 43). The government has responded by considering rules toprevent human cloning before it starts, and President Clinton has calledfor regulations. Works CitedBankowski, Zbigniew. Advances in geneticsraise issues that are also entirely new. Ebola has been in the news in recent yearsbecause of major outbreaks in Africa and because of a potential outbreak inReston, Virginia and in Texas when some infected apes escaped. Bankowski further points out some of the more complex issues we facetoday and the ethical dilemmas they raise. Phalon states that"at their best, these new technologies extend life. Three subtypes have beenidentified (Preston 295). It is necessary to apply critical thinking even to the determinationof what underlying ethical structure to apply. The recent report of the cloning of a sheep in Scotland has causedethicists to ask whether we will one day be cloning human beings for spareparts, and this raises the issue of whether we should allow this to bedone. The Hot Zone. The sperm and the ovum can today bemanipulated to an extent never before possible, leading to all manner ofquestions about artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization, so-calledrented wombs, and so on. Epidemics: Opposing Viewpoints. hospital (Phalon 134). Hubbard argues that "we need town meetings, public hearings, forumswhere people can become informed about the antisocial implications of thesetechnologies and discuss how best to rein them in" (Hubbard 5). There are those who believethat there is a natural law that is to be followed in making thesedecisions and that we have to be true to nature in making our ethicaldecisions, while others argue with this idea and see a differentimperative: "There is nothing in terms of natural laws or patterns that weshould emulate. "What Is Natural?" Discover (June 1994), 4 -42.Holtzman, Eric. At issue here is a conflict betweenmedicine's duty to preserve life and its duty to preserve it without unduesuffering" (Phalon 134). These issues have to be approached individually to determine theelements involved, the ways in which traditional ideas and values arechallenged by new procedures or new genetic engineering, and how the humanbeings involved are affected, how the environment may be affected, and howsociety as a whole is affected by these procedures. The terms'medical ethics,' 'bioethics' and 'health policy ethics' appear more andmore often--and usually in confusing contexts" (Bankowski 2). The traditional moral viewpoint has been that professionalsecrecy is in both the patient's and the doctor's interests. Such linkage is a new fact of presentreality, and the choices we need to make are not just 'natural' biologicalchoices. This mustbe considered as potentially being a major health risk in an age when aninfected person can get on a plane and travel half-way around the world toinfect others. The difficulty we face in trying to shape an ethical structure forthese issues is addressed by Zbigniew Bankowski when he writes: "Theextraordinary progress of biomedical sciences and medical technology duringthe last three decades and its application in medical practice confront oursocieties with new ethical dilemmas" (Bankowski 2). Epidemics have always been apart of human history (Dudley 12), and Ebola is an extremely deadly virusfrom the tropics, a disease known as a filovirus. As it becomes possible to predictwhich children are likely to get certain diseases as they grow older, thequestion is raised as to whether this means they should be told. Theinstitutional frameworks of science--academia, engineering firms, drugcompanies--involve class, race, and gender hierarchies of scientificworkers, and only those near the top of these hierarchies can even claim tofunction autonomously (Holtzman 86). Advances in medicine and biology offer great possibilities for futuremedical procedures and for entirely new procedures such as genetic splicingto create new forms of life for good or ill. D and Mrs. E upon birth? Our morality is not concerned with obeying laws of nature.Instead it is concerned with facing facts as they relate to a larger planor vision" (Heinrich 42). News & World Report (July 23, 199 ), 57-59.Dudley, William. The so-called Ebola virus is one of thedeadliest, and descriptions of what it does to its victims makes it one ofthe more horrific ways to die by disease. New York: Random House, 1994.Schaeffer, P. . The issuesraised are not simple and are not easily answered, making it all the morevital that critical thinking be developed and applied to issues ofbioethics. But today,ought we not to be concerned to make genetic information available to therelatives (or the potential spouse) of the patient?" (Bankowski 3). This response alone shows that while we are willing toaccept benefits from certain biological technologies, we are not willing toaccept a challenge to our humanity and individuality. He claims that our "natural morality once sufficed tokeep us moral. "Biology and Social Responsibilty." Monthly Review (July- August 1986), 86-97.Hubbard, R. Even a global morality will not answer all the questions raised by newdevelopments in medicine and biology, and often the issue is specificallywhether because we can do something means we should. Just asthere may be a right to know, there may also be a right not to know, not tobe told about certain potential problems. He states thathealth is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being andshould not be seen as merely the absence of disease or infirmity. "Questions with Human Beings Attached." Forbes (March 3 , 1992), 134-135.Preston, Richard. "Dolly Greeted with Excitement, Reserve." National Catholic Reporter (1993, March 14), 3-4. Thus, "recent progress in biomedical science, the resultingdevelopment of new medical technology and the growing possibility of itsapplications provoke a certain anxiety" (Bankowski 3). San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999.Heinrich, Bernd. In our own time weare faced with the scourge of AIDS, which involves a whole panoply ofethical issues that are unique to this disease, issues such asconfidentiality, disclosures, public health, and modes of transmission, aswell as issues facing people with other terminal diseases such as the rightto die by refusing extraordinary medical measures.

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