Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Bioethics, Law, And The Opioid Crisis: Revisiting The Concept Of Incarceration Versus Rehabilitation, Zachary J. Krauss

Bioethics in Faith and Practice

The opioid crisis has taken America by storm and is causing more deaths each year than ever originally anticipated. Our current approach to addressing the opioid crisis involves two separate approaches, one from the medical/rehabilitation side of the problem, and one from the criminal justice side. This article serves as a revisiting of the discussion of the intricate balance that must be reached between rehabilitation and incarceration in order to adequately address the problem.

The Ethics Of Ivf, Breanna Beers

Bioethics in Faith and Practice

In vitro fertilization (IVF) has promised hope to many couples struggling with the pain of infertility. However, as with any new medical technology, the ethical implications of this procedure must be examined, particularly in light of recent events such as the birth of the first genetically modified human beings, made possible by IVF. It is crucial to examine oppositions to IVF based on principle, as well as address concerns related to adjacent issues such as the discard of unused embryos; the selection, payment, privacy, and parental rights of donors and surrogates; the importance of genetic parenthood; new combinations of gametes; …

Is Medical Education Ethical?, Jonathan Handy, Dennis Sullivan

Bioethics in Faith and Practice

No abstract provided

Is Bioethics Relevant?, Heather G. Kuruvilla

Bioethics in Faith and Practice

We live in a broken, unjust, and often dangerous world. Technology promises hope; hope for new cures, broader access to information, and a better quality of life for humankind. Technologies such as gene editing and artificial intelligence continue to progress at a pace we have never seen before, running far ahead of the ethical discussions surrounding their stewardship. In a technology-driven culture like ours, one might be tempted to ask whether the ethical discussion is still relevant.

A Request For Non-Voluntary Euthanasia In Bangladesh: A Moral Assessment, Norman K. Swazo

Bioethics in Faith and Practice

Government authorities in Bangladesh recently were placed in an awkward and extraordinary position of having to make a presumably difficult decision: how to respond to a man’s request to have his two sons and grandson euthanized. This is an extraordinary request for a developing country’s health service authorities to consider, especially in the context of a Muslim-majority population where any appeal to the legitimacy of suicide (and, by extension, physician-assisted suicide) would be automatically rejected as contrary to Islamic moral and jurisprudential principles. Here the case is reviewed in the context of arguments that engage non-voluntary euthanasia and the local …

Presumed Consent For Organ Donation: Principlism Opts Out, Ryan M. Marquardt

Bioethics in Faith and Practice

The number of available organs for transplant each year falls woefully short of the number of patients in need of donated organs in the United States. While approval numbers are very high for organ donation, the number of registered donors is much smaller. A commonly proposed solution to increase the pool of organ donors is to replace the current explicit consent policy with a presumed consent system, where everyone is considered to have consented as a donor unless they have opted out by joining a non-donor registry or by some other method. This proposal raises many ethical questions that must …

Mental Illness And The Grace Of God, Laura K. Sjoquist

Bioethics in Faith and Practice

This paper will attempt to address God's grace towards those with mental illnesses. It also attempts to provide direction in response to historical church views towards this population. Through scripture, this paper seeks to emphasize the importance of seeing a person as more than what they physically appear capable of - seeing people through God's eyes.

Biblical Ethics And Assisted Suicide, Corbett Hall

Bioethics in Faith and Practice

Physician-assisted suicide contradicts the traditional role of doctor as healer and undermines the empathetical relationship between physician and patient. Suicide is a tragedy of despair and the triumph of evil; Christian physicians should consider other means to alleviate the suffering of terminal patients.

Autonomy And Patient Care: To What Extent Should Children Make Their Own Decisions?, Heather G. Kuruvilla

Bioethics in Faith and Practice

On June 14, 2016, 5-year old Julianna Snow died at home, in accordance with her stated wishes not to return to the hospital. Julianna suffered from a severe form of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, an inherited neurodegenerative disorder which, while not always lethal,1 had weakened her body to the extent that even a cold could be fatal.

Julianna’s case raises important questions about patient autonomy and end-of-life care for children. The child did not wish to return to the hospital, and was willing to go to heaven instead.6 Though her parents respected her autonomy and honored her decision, the question remains: did …

Senior Editor's Preview, Dennis Sullivan

Bioethics in Faith and Practice

Senior Editor's Preview

A Christian Ethical Perspective On Surrogacy, Mark E. Lones

Bioethics in Faith and Practice

Infertility is a painful reality for many couples. Assisted reproductive technologies (A.R.T.) are becoming increasingly more popular for infertile couples desperate to conceive. In 1972 physician and ethicist Leon Kass warned that “infertility is a relationship as much as a condition – a relationship between husband and wife, and also between generations too. More is involved than the interests of any single individual”. Yet, most Christians have been reticent in asking what boundaries or principles need to be drawn. A recent Pew Research study found Americans, including evangelical Christians, largely do not see in vitro fertilization and surrogacy as a …

Method In Catholic Bioethics: Anh And Pvs Patients, Gregory J. Smith

Bioethics in Faith and Practice

This paper discusses the methods used in Catholic Social Teaching (CST), a part of the Catholic Moral Tradition (CMT), as applied to bioethical problem solving and decision-making. In order to apply CST to a concrete bioethical problem and to analyze the methods used in CST, the nature and extent of the obligation to provide artificial nutrition and hydration (ANH) to patients in a persistent vegetative state (PVS) is addressed. In particular, this paper focuses upon the extent to which providing ANH to PVS patients is or should be considered morally obligatory. In this discussion, the current official view of the …

Crispr: Race To The Cure, Heather G. Kuruvilla

Bioethics in Faith and Practice

On November 15th, the scientific world was taken by storm when Chinese researchers announced that the gene editing technique, CRISPR, was being used for the first time in a clinical trial.i CRISPR, which stands for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats, allows scientists to target specific genes for knockout, or even for replacement by other genes. The technique has showed promising results in both in vitro and animal models, and researchers foresee myriad medical uses for it. The aforementioned Chinese study involves genetically engineering T-cells to make them better able to fight cancer. Another CRISPR study involving reprogramming T-cells was …

The New Push For Assisted Suicide, Dennis Sullivan

Bioethics in Faith and Practice

The new push to legalize physician assisted suicide is a bad idea. It violates the Hippocratic tradition, dating back 2400 years. It impairs the trust relationship between doctor and patients, and would detract from modern efforts to improve palliative care and hospice. Finally, it is contrary to clear principles from the God's Word.

Senior Editor's Preview, Dennis Sullivan

Bioethics in Faith and Practice

Welcome to Bioethics in Faith and Practice! As we close out 2016, the New Year brings many challenging issues. This issue of the journal features ethical dilemmas at the beginning of life, the end of life, and in the laboratory.

An Ethical Framework For End-Of-Life Discussions, Mark E. Lones

Bioethics in Faith and Practice

The primary goal of medical care is to assist patients to address medical issues which may threaten their health in order to preserve and restore the quality of the patients’ life. However, when a patient’s prognosis for meaningful survival is poor, there is a change in focus from restorative care to palliative care. The transition from “cure to comfort” is one of the most challenging and important medical care decisions the patient and family may encounter. The purpose of this article is to help give patients, families and care-givers an ethical framework to effectively discuss treatment options, values, and preferences …

The Abortion Decision: What About Dad?, Erica C. Graham

Bioethics in Faith and Practice

The modern utilitarian abortion debate focuses on how women are affected by abortion but has neglected the utilitarian concerns of men. Abortion is currently justified based on ethical claims that apply to both men and women equally. These ethical claims include empowerment in reproductive decisions, not desiring to become a parent, socioeconomic concerns, moral responsibility over children, pregnancy resulting from coercion, and autonomy. This paper reveals the equivalent ethical claims of men and women to these claims and argues for men having a legal say in deciding whether or not to abort.

A Call To Forward-Thinking Bioethics, Heather G. Kuruvilla

Bioethics in Faith and Practice

It is said that hindsight is always 20/20. However, a reasoned approach to practical bioethics requires an awareness of developing technologies and their potential applications to clinical practice.

Welcome To Bioethics In Faith And Practice, Dennis M. Sullivan

Bioethics in Faith and Practice

Welcome to Bioethics in Faith and Practice! Whether you are a healthcare professional, an academic, a member of the clergy, a student, or simply someone interested in these topics, we are glad you are here. This new enterprise is meant to bridge the gap between theory and practice, where moral philosophy and Christian faith are brought to bear on the everyday practice of medicine. It is important to understand why this new journal exists.