Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Legal Personhood For Artificial Intelligence, Tyler Jaynes

Tyler Jaynes

Ethical Aspects Of Prenatal Genetic Diagnostics, Hille Haker

Hille Haker

Starting with some basic distinctions, i.e. the distinction between an ethics of human self-fulfilment ,of individual and social values and of virtues on one hand, and an ethics of individual rights, of obligation and of social justice on the other, this paper explores the manifold scenario of the problems of prenatal diagnosis with respect to these different aspects of ethical analysis. This is followed by a normative evaluation of the status of the human embryo, and by an elaboration of different adressees of responsibility in the field of biomedicine and, especially, of prenatal genetic diagnosis. The author comes to the …

Autonomy And Care In Medicine, Hille Haker

Hille Haker

This paper argues that the core principle of bioethics, autonomy, is rooted both in the 20th century history of the development of new medical technologies as in political liberalism transferred to medical practices, rendering the medical decision-making of patients a centerpiece of medical interventions. The paper shows how the ambiguity in the interpretation of autonomy reflects the ambivalence of bioethics towards making normative claims on the moral agents insofar as these go beyond the respect for a patient’s autonomy. In the second part, the paper analyzes the alternative approach of care ethics, which intends to emphasize both the vulnerability and …

Abortion And Animal Rights: Does Either Topic Lead To The Other?, Nathan M. Nobis

Nathan M. Nobis, PhD

A Response To Peter Singer: The Logic Of Effective Altruism, András Miklós

András Miklós

The “Babe” Vegetarians: Bioethics, Animal Minds And Moral Methodology, Nathan Nobis

Nathan M. Nobis, PhD

Here I discuss the role the film “Babe” has played in helping people address these challenges and make this moral progress. It is thought that a significant number of young people (mostly girls, now young women) became vegetarians due to their seeing “Babe.” These people are often called “Babe Vegetarians,” influence by what has been called “The Babe Effect.” Many of their stories are found on the internet.

Caritas In Communion: Theological Foundations Of Catholic Health Care, M. Lysaught

M. Therese Lysaught

No abstract provided.

The Bad Habit Of Bearing Children, H Theixos

H Theixos

Procreation – the act of having and raising biological children – is generally not a life choice that is subject to moral scrutiny. In this paper the authors argue that decisions to procreate are morally evaluable, and that such evaluation reveals that prospective parents have a defeasible obligation to prioritize adoption over procreation. The obligation is defeated by the lack of desire to become a parent, and also in certain cases where legal are logistically onerous. We conclude that for those prospective parents who are unaffected by the defeasibility conditions have a duty to prioritize adoption, regardless of the strength, …

Mere Genes A Review Of Life Script By Nicholas Wade And The Misunderstood Gene By Michael Morange, M. Therese Lysaught

M. Therese Lysaught

No abstract provided.

Review Of The Anticipatory Corpse: Medicine, Power, And Care For The Dying By Jeffrey P. Bishop, M. Therese Lysaught

M. Therese Lysaught

No abstract provided.

Review Of The X In Sex, By David Bainbridge, M. Therese Lysaught

M. Therese Lysaught

No abstract provided.

And Power Corrupts…: Theology And The Disciplinary Matrix Of Bioethics, M. Therese Lysaught

M. Therese Lysaught

What role should religion play in a religiously pluralistic liberal society? Public bioethics unavoidably raises this question in a particularly insistent fashion. As the 20 papers in this collection demonstrate, the issues are complex and multifaceted. The authors address specific and highly contested issues as assisted suicide, stem cell research, cloning, reproductive health, and alternative medicine as well as more general questions such as who legitimately speaks for religion in public bioethics, what religion can add to our understanding of justice, and the value of faith-based contributions to healthcare. Christian (Catholic and Protestant), Jewish, Islamic, and Buddhist viewpoints are represented. …

Review Of A Different Death: Euthanasia And The Christian Tradition By Edward J. Larson And Darrel W. Amundsen, M. Therese Lysaught

M. Therese Lysaught

No abstract provided.

Researchers’ Perceptions Of Ethical Challenges In Cluster Randomized Trials: A Qualitative Analysis, Andrew Mcrae, Carol Bennett, Judith Belle Brown, Charles Weijer, Robert Boruch, Jamie Brehaut, Shazia Chaudhry, Allan Donner, Martin Eccles, Jeremy Grimshaw, Merrick Zwarenstein, Monica Taljaard

Charles Weijer

Background

Cluster randomized trials (CRTs) pose ethical challenges for investigators and ethics committees. This study describes the views and experiences of CRT researchers with respect to: (1) ethical challenges in CRTs; (2) the ethics review process for CRTs; and (3) the need for comprehensive ethics guidelines for CRTs.

Methods

Descriptive qualitative analysis of interviews conducted with a purposive sample of 20 experienced CRT researchers.

Results

Informants expressed concern over the potential for bias that may result from requirements to obtain informed consent from research participants in CRTs. Informants suggested that the need for informed consent ought to be related to …

Bioethics In Canada, Charles Weijer, Anthony Skelton, Samantha Brennan

Samantha Brennan

This comprehensive introduction to bioethical issues emphasizes Canadian policies, issues, and scholars. Using the human lifespan as an organizing narrative, Bioethics in Canada explores ethical theories through a diverse selection of readings discussing traditional and cutting-edge topics in the field.

Readership : Bioethics in Canada is a core text for bioethics courses, generally offered in second- or third-year through philosophy departments at Canadian universities.

http://www.oupcanada.com/catalog/9780195440157.html

Adult Children And Eldercare: The Moral Considerations Of Filial Obligations, H Theixos

H Theixos

This essay investigates the demands on adult children to provide care for their elderly/ill parents from a socio-moral perspective. In order to narrow the examination, the question pursued here is agent-relative: What social and moral complexities are involved for the adult child when their parent(s) need care? First, this article examines our society’s expectation that adult children are morally obligated to provide care for their parents. Second, the essay articulates how transgressing against this normative expectation can inure significant moral criticism. The final sections present these tensions within the context of disability.

Eight Is Enough?: The Ethics Of The California Octuplets Case, Scott Paeth

Scott R. Paeth

The recent California octuplets case raises a number of important issues that need to be addressed in the context of the increasingly widespread practice of in vitro fertilization. This paper explores some of those issues as looked at from the perspective of protestant theological ethics and public theology, examining the moral responsibilities of the various participants in the process, both before and after the octuplets’ birth, including the mother, her doctors, the health care bureaucracy, the wider society, and the media. Each of these participants failed in significant respects to consider the ethical implications of the births in this complicated …

Review Of "Health Care And The Ethics Of Encounter: A Jewish Discussion Of Social Justice," By Laurie Zoloth, M Therese Lysaught

M. Therese Lysaught

Dr. Lysaught reviews Laurie Zoloth's book Health Care and the Ethics of Encounter: A Jewish Discussion of Social Justice.

Ethical Issues Posed By Cluster Randomized Trials In Health Research, Charles Weijer, Jeremy Grimshaw, Monica Taljaard, Ariella Binik, Robert Boruch, Jamie Brehaut, Allan Donner, Martin Eccles, Antonio Gallo, Andrew Mcrae, Raphael Saginur, Merrick Zwarenstein

Charles Weijer

The cluster randomized trial (CRT) is used increasingly in knowledge translation research, quality improvement research, community based intervention studies, public health research, and research in developing countries. However, cluster trials raise difficult ethical issues that challenge researchers, research ethics committees, regulators, and sponsors as they seek to fulfill responsibly their respective roles. Our project will provide a systematic analysis of the ethics of cluster trials. Here we have outlined a series of six areas of inquiry that must be addressed if the cluster trial is to be set on a firm ethical foundation: 1. Who is a research subject? 2. …

Deciphering Dignity, Leslie Meltzer Henry

Leslie Meltzer Henry

This commentary draws on dignity’s usage in law, ethics, and public policy to contemplate a narrow question about what the concept of dignity means in debates about human enhancement technologies. In particular, it considers arguments made by Fabrice Jotterand and other bioethicists who aim to repudiate the transhumanist claim that individuals can enhance their dignity through technological modification. The trouble with the positions on both sides of this debate is that it is extremely difficult to make normative comparisons about human and post-human dignity without first infusing dignity with particular metaphysical assumptions. To that end, the commentary offers a brief …

Conceptual Problems In Research Ethics, Charles Weijer

Charles Weijer

This poster addresses these issues:
• What good is medical research?
• What is owed to the study subject?
• When is research risk acceptable?
• How should we conduct research in developing countries?
• How should we conduct research involving communities?

Feminism, Law, And Bioethics, Karen H. Rothenberg

Karen H. Rothenberg

Feminist legal theory provides a healthy skepticism toward legal doctrine and insists that we reexamine even formally gender-neutral rules to uncover problematic assumptions behind them. The article first outlines feminist legal theory from the perspectives of liberal, cultural, and radical feminism. Examples of how each theory influences legal practice, case law, and legislation are highlighted. Each perspective is then applied to a contemporary bioethical issue, egg donation. Following a brief discussion of the common themes shared by feminist jurisprudence, the article incorporates a narrative reflecting on the integration of the common feminist themes in the context of the passage of …

Ethical Considerations In The Conduct Of Vaccine Trials In Developing Countries, Charles Weijer, C. Lanata, C. Plowe

Charles Weijer

No abstract provided.

Ethical Challenges In Icu Research, Charles Weijer

Charles Weijer

No abstract provided.

When Can Physicians Say “No” To Families And Patients?, Charles Weijer

Charles Weijer

No abstract provided.

Helsinki Discords: Fda, Ethics, And International Drug Trials, Jonathan Kimmelman, Charles Weijer, Eric Meslin

Charles Weijer

No abstract provided.

Ethics And Schizophrenia, A. Rudnick, Charles Weijer

Charles Weijer

No abstract provided.

U.S. Federal Regulations For Emergency Research: A Practical Guide And Commentary, Andrew Mcrae, Charles Weijer

Charles Weijer

Emergency medicine research requires the enrollment of subjects with varying decision-making capacities, including capable adults, adults incapacitated by illness or injury, and children. These different categories of subjects are protected by multiple federal regulations. These include the federal Common Rule, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) regulations for pediatric research, and the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Final Rule for the Exception from the Requirements of Informed Consent in Emergency Situations. Investigators should be familiar with the relevant federal research regulations to optimally protect vulnerable research subjects, and to facilitate the institutional review board (IRB) review process. IRB …

Infertility And Moral Luck: The Politics Of Women Blaming Themselves For Infertility, Julie E. Ponesse

Julie E Ponesse

Infertility can be an agonizing experience, especially for women. And, much of the agony has to do with luck: with how unlucky one is in being infertile, and in how much luck is involved in determining whether one can weather the storm of infertility and perhaps have a child in the end. We argue that bad luck associated with being infertile is often bad moral luck for women. The infertile woman often blames herself or is blamed by others for what is happening to her, even when she cannot control or prevent what is happening to her. She has simply …

Afflicting The Comfortable: An Assessment Of The Stasis In International Bioethical Discourse, Sam Grey

Sam Grey

Despite decades of clinical research being carried out in the 'developing' world, neither the socio-political and economic context of the global South, nor the nature and historical trajectory of global inequality have played a substantive role in determining the nature and extent of North-to-South bioethical obligations. Instead, context has been used to vacate obligation, shut out theories of justice, and collapse the “four principles' of bioethics” – sacrosanct in the 'developed’ world - into a singular, non-negotiable focus on autonomy as a procedurally-defined right. Proponents of a minimum-standards system of international clinical research conflate scientific, statistical, economic, and ethical issues, …