Bioethics and Medical Ethics | Open Access Articles

Introduction: Notes From The Bedside, Sheila P. Davis

Journal of Health Ethics

No abstract provided.

Living With Productive Discomfort: Ethical Reflections On Critical Care Medicine, Peter A. Depergola Ii

Journal of Health Ethics

In this essay, the author considers the theme of deaths and resurrections in light of uncertain outcomes, and captures the pressure on ethicists to always know “the right thing to do.”

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The Bionic Brain: Pragmatic Neuroethics And The Moral Plausibility Of Cognitive Enhancement, Peter A. Depergola Ii

Journal of Health Ethics

The seemingly infinite possibilities of contemporary neuroscience span from the augmentation of memory, executive function, appetite, libido, sleep, and mood, to the maturation and development of emotional health and personality. These prospects hint at the capacity to alter neurocognitive conceptions of reality. They also mark the unavoidable inculcation of nuanced individual responses, perhaps radical, to these “tailor- made” perceptions. Hence, there exists certain neuroethical, and even more generally, existential risks within this fascinating and expeditious enterprise. The primary question in the context of present-day neurotechnology is not what can be done, but what should be. To that end, this paper …

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Behind The Mask Of Morality: (E)Urochristian Bioethics And The Colonial-Racial Discourse, Jennifer L. Mccurdy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The discipline of bioethics is insufficient and ineffective in addressing the persistent issues of racism and racial inequalities in healthcare. A minority of bioethicists are indeed attentive to issues such as implicit bias, structural racism, power inequalities, and the social determinants of health. Yet, these efforts do not consider the colonial-racial discourse -- that racism is an instrument of eurochristian colonialism, and bioethics is a product of that same colonial worldview. Exposing mainstream bioethicists to the work of anti-colonial scholars and activists would provide bioethicists a framework through which they would be better equipped to address issues of race through: …

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Refinement On The Way Towards Replacement: Are We Doing What We Can?, Kathrin Herrmann

Humane Science Movement Collection

No abstract provided.

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Retrospective Review Of Anesthetic And Analgesic Regimens Used In Animal Research Proposals, Kathrin Herrmann, Paul A. Flecknell

Experimental Research and Animal Welfare Collection

Pain has a profound effect on an animal’s wellbeing. In Germany, researchers using animals have been legally required to reduce any possible pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm to an absolute minimum since 1972. To evaluate how these provisions have been implemented in practice, an assessment of refinements to experimental techniques was conducted by retrospectively reviewing 684 surgical interventions described in 506 animal research applications that were sent to the German competent authorities for approval in 2010. This paper focuses on the efficacy of proposed anesthesia and peri- and postoperative analgesia. Postoperative analgesia was not proposed for 30% of surgeries. …

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Contesting Animal Experiments Through Ethics And Epistemology: In Defense Of A Political Critique Of Animal Experimentation, Arianna Ferrari

Professional Science Research Ethics Collection

Generally, an animal experiment can be defined as an intervention on an animal, which causes suffering, harm, and distress, for scientific purposes. In this definition, animal experiments differ from more general scientific investigations concerning animals, such as observational studies in the wild in the fields of ethology or conservation, in which animals are involved but may not be harmed. Nowadays, the use of the term vivisection, in the case of animal experiments, is very controversial. This term originally referred to the cutting of living bodies for scientific purposes and has a long conceptual history (Maehle, 1992). In ancient times, it …

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How Can The Final Goal Of Completely Replacing Animal Procedures Successfully Be Achieved?, Christiane Baumgartl-Simons, Christiane Hohense

Validation of Alternative Methods Collection

Article 23 of European Union (EU) Directive 86/609/EEC required that Member States promote the development and validation of alternative technologies and stated that the European Commission (EC) “shall report before the end of 1987 on the possibility of modifying tests and guidelines” (European Parliament, 1986, Article 23). This Directive was replaced by Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes, which now requires that Member States develop and validate alternative approaches much more precisely and specifies that the ultimate objective is the “full replacement of procedures on live animals for scientific and educational purposes, as soon as …

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The Moral Status Of Animal Research Subjects In Industry: A Stakeholder Analysis, Sarah Kenehan

Morality and Ethics of Animal Experimentation Collection

The use of non-human animals (hereinafter referred to as animals) in research and testing is a widely accepted practice in many industries. Millions of animals each year are subjected to painful procedures that include everything from physical mutilation to drug addiction. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (usda), over 820,812 animals were experimented on in the United States in 2016 (usda, 2017), though this count does not include rats, mice, or birds, and dubiously relies solely on the self-reporting of laboratories (Humane Society of the United States, 2011; Keen, 2019, Chapter 10 in this Volume). Estimates suggest that …

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How To Evaluate The Science Of Non-Human Animal Use In Biomedical Research And Testing: A Proposed Format For Debate, Ray Greek, Lisa A. Kramer

Validation of Alternative Methods Collection

Over time, the interpretation of science has occasionally been corrupted by vested interest groups, be they financially motivated or ego driven. Scientific consensus and widespread public beliefs usually catch up with the evidence, but this can take a very long time and often costs lives. The use of non-human animals in biomedical research and testing is a scientific endeavor and, as such, can and should be evaluated in light of the best science currently available. But facts that have been accepted in all areas of science are routinely ignored or called into question by well-funded, vested interest groups, compromising the …

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Rethinking The 3rs: From Whitewashing To Rights, Charlotte E. Blattner

Humane Science Movement Collection

Few other issues have prompted as many legislators to adopt legal instruction on the “proper” use of non-human animals (hereinafter referred to as animals) in medical and scientific research. Today, the 3Rs (replacement, reduction, and refinement of animals in scientific procedures) are globally accepted by a vast majority of states (Blattner, 2014); and prominent international organizations, such as the World Organisation for Animal Health (Terrestrial Animal Health Code, 2018, Article 7(8)(3)) and the Council of Europe (Convention for the Protection of Vertebrate Animals Used for Experimental and Other Scientific Purposes, 1986, Articles 6(2), 7 and 8). Widespread acceptance of the …

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Beyond Plausibility Checks: A Case For Moral Doubt In Review Processes Of Animal Experimentation, Mara-Daria Cojocaru, Philipp Von Gall

Morality and Ethics of Animal Experimentation Collection

The fact that countries all over the world continue to develop new regulations for experimentation on non-human animals testament that this practice raises many doubts. Our aim in this chapter is to show that one important type of doubt should receive more attention: a particular type of moral doubt that could play a pivotal role in the ethical review of animal experiments. We assume that there are a range of emotions that indicate morally complex or problematic situations. When one or all of these emotions are experienced, we say that someone is experiencing moral doubt. To illustrate this point, we …

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Human Wrongs In Animal Research: A Focus On Moral Injury And Reification, Jane Johnson, Anna Smajdor

Morality and Ethics of Animal Experimentation Collection

Using arguments derived from the work of Axel Honneth (2006), we show that animal research involves an institutionalized failure to recognize nonhuman animals that not only reifies animals but the human persons engaged in this process, diminishing the scope of their moral agency and causing moral injury. In this chapter, we begin by briefly articulating the harms to animals in research and the more conventional harms to humans that can arise as a result of animal research, before making a case for the ethical damage wrought by the failures of recognition inherent within the system of animal research. We conclude …

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Replacing Animal Tests To Improve Safety For Humans, Kathy Archibald, Robert Coleman, Tamara Drake

Application of Alternative Methods Collection

In this chapter, we propose a new, pragmatic approach that could accelerate the replacement of most, if not all, regulatory animal tests with superior tests based on human biology. We also propose that changes to the requirements for safety testing, issued by the us Food and Drug Administration (fda), must be made in order to enable the use of superior new tests, which are currently disadvantaged by the outdated language of the regulations. But first, it is imperative to establish some level of understanding of the efficacy of existing animal-based methods in order to know whether any possible replacement is …

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The Changing Paradigm In Preclinical Toxicology: In Vitro And In Silico Methods In Liver Toxicity Evaluations, Fozia Noor

Application of Alternative Methods Collection

In vitro methods, based on human primary cells, cell lines, and genetically modified reporter cell lines, have greatly expanded the scope of in vitro toxicology. Other significant progress in the area of human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) (Asgari et al., 2010; Schwartz et al., 2014; Shinde et al., 2016; Shtrichman, Germanguz and Itskovitz-Eldor, 2013) is allowing the application of patient and disease-specific hiPSCs (Ghodsizadeh et al., 2010; McCracken et al., 2014; Siller et al., 2013). Moreover, the tools of precise genome editing with engineered nucleases, such as the zinc finger nucleases (zfns), the transcription activator-like effecter nucleases (talens) and, more …

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The Potential Of Organ On Chip Technology For Replacing Animal Testing, Malcolm Wilkinson

Human Clinical Trials Collection

The term organ on a chip is used to describe the latest stage of development of in vitro cell culture technology. Figure 26.1 shows its steady development since the 1960s. Each step forward has improved our ability to model human-clinical response to new drugs or therapies and has enabled safety risk assessment of existing cosmetics, personal care products, or other chemicals in the environment. Scientific evidence that the predictive power of in vitro tests is superior to the use of animals will trigger a major shift in the way that medical research, in many areas, is carried out. In this …

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Recent Developments In Alternatives To Animal Testing, Katy Taylor

Application of Alternative Methods Collection

Methods that replace techniques that use live animals, or methods of testing substances without live animal use, are known as alternatives, replacements or non-animal methods. Some prefer the term advanced technologies given the fact that they often rely on more sophisticated technology and are more human- relevant than the animal test they replace (see Langley et al., 2015). There have been efforts to replace animal tests since the 1960s. Significant progress initially came in replacing animals used to diagnose human disease; to produce biological drugs (such as vaccines); and to safety test batches of these drugs as they were produced. …

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Behavioral Research On Captive Animals: Scientific And Ethical Concerns, Kimberley Jayne, Adam See

Morality and Ethics of Animal Experimentation Collection

The first half of this chapter focuses exclusively on animals that are used in laboratory behavioral research to model wild behavior, what is typically involved, problems associated with this practice, and how behavioral research has revealed scientific problems in the animal model. The second half of this chapter then addresses the ethical questions of whether scientific curiosity of animal behavior in general provides any justification for carrying out this research in this first place, with specific focus on non-human primates (nhps).

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When Is An Alternative Not An Alternative? Supporting Progress For Absolute Replacement Of Animals In Science, Craig Redmond

Humane Science Movement Collection

This chapter addresses some of the areas in which animals are still used within “alternatives”-based research and calls on animal welfare and in vitro organizations to lead the debate and encourage absolute replacement of animal use in research. Without this, progress to end animal research will always remain limited, despite the paradigm shift seen in recent decades.

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Research And Testing Without Animals: Where Are We Now And Where Are We Heading?, Thomas Hartung

Humane Science Movement Collection

Experiments involving non-human animals (hereinafter referred to as animals) were the predominant technology in the life sciences from the 1920s to the 1970s. Increasingly, animal-based procedures have been complemented and superseded by other approaches; yet, they still have an enormous reputation as an apparent definitive answer to many scientific and, especially, regulatory questions. They have been questioned first for ethical reasons: Can we justify making animals suffer for scientific inquiry? Simply said, people have different views on this question, but the general public views animal experimentation more and more critically. The animal research community has sought a compromise between those …

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Ethics, Efficacy, And Decision-Making In Animal Research, Lawrence A. Hansen, Kori Ann Kosberg

Morality and Ethics of Animal Experimentation Collection

Few would disagree with the ethical contention that if cruelty to animals is not wrong, then nothing is wrong. In fact, it is not only wrong, but in most states in the us, it is a crime, a felony no less. And yet, intentionally inflicting pain and suffering upon animals, which meets Webster’s definition of cruelty, is routinely countenanced when vivisection (from the Latin vivi, to be alive, and secare, to cut) is performed under license for biomedical research. Deciding to embrace, or reject, or limit animal research demands our best ethical judgment; and it is complicated by factual disputes …

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Consequences And Management Of Canine Brachycephaly In Veterinary Practice: Perspectives From Australian Veterinarians And Veterinary Specialists, Anne Fawcett, Vanessa Barrs, Magdoline Awad, Georgina Child, Laurencie Brunel, Erin Mooney, Fernando Martinez-Taboada, Beth Mcdonald, Paul Mcgreevy

Professional Veterinary Ethics Collection

This article, written by veterinarians whose caseloads include brachycephalic dogs, argues that there is now widespread evidence documenting a link between extreme brachycephalic phenotypes and chronic disease, which compromises canine welfare. This paper is divided into nine sections exploring the breadth of the impact of brachycephaly on the incidence of disease, as indicated by pet insurance claims data from an Australian pet insurance provider, the stabilization of respiratory distress associated with brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS), challenges associated with sedation and the anaesthesia of patients with BOAS; effects of brachycephaly on the brain and associated neurological conditions, dermatological conditions associated …

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Ethical And Scientific Pitfalls Concerning Laboratory Research With Non-Human Primates, And Possible Solutions, Constança Carvalho, Augusta Gaspar, Andrew Knight, Luís Vicente

Morality and Ethics of Animal Experimentation Collection

Basic and applied laboratory research, whenever intrusive or invasive, presents substantial ethical challenges for ethical committees, be it with human beings or with non-human animals. In this paper we discuss the use of non-human primates (NHPs), mostly as animal models, in laboratory based research. We examine the two ethical frameworks that support current legislation and guidelines: deontology and utilitarianism. While human based research is regulated under deontological principles, guidelines for laboratory animal research rely on utilitarianism. We argue that the utilitarian framework is inadequate for this purpose: on the one hand, it is almost impossible to accurately predict the benefits …

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The Ethics Of An Unlicensed Medical Practitioner, Charles C. Escott

Writing Across the Curriculum

For option A of this assignment, the prompt is that Harry, a manufacturer of medical equipment and an avid reader of medical textbooks, has developed a program that will allow its users to self-diagnose and self-treat their ailments, without a doctor’s help. Harry wants to sell his program to “ordinary folk” as a replacement for consulting licensed medical practitioners. An important point here is that Harry is not licensed to practice medicine and has only read books on the subject. The posed question is whether or not his program should be published (from an ethical standpoint—not necessarily a profit-driven one). …

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Sexual Mutilation Of Muslim Girls, Today In The United States, Robert Brannon

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

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Strategies Healthcare Managers Use To Reduce Hospital-Acquired Infections, Yohannes Debesai

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Every year, 2 million patients in the United States suffer with at least 1 hospital-acquired infection resulting in an estimated 99,000 deaths annually. The purpose of this exploratory single case study was to explore strategies healthcare managers in U.S. hospitals used to reduce hospital-acquired infections. The study included face-to-face, semistructured interviews with 5 healthcare managers from a hospital in Maryland who were successful in reducing these infections. The conceptual framework was human capital theory. Field notes, hospital documents, and transcribed interviews were analyzed to identify themes regarding strategies used by healthcare managers. The data analysis and coding process resulted in …

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Globalization Of Clinical Research And Assessment Of Global Access To Treatments Approved Between 2006-2015, Rafael Duncan Escandon

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Globalization in clinical research and development has increased since the 1990s. Products approved in the United States (U.S.) and European Union (EU) include increasing numbers of research participants from low- and middle-income countries. The purposes of this quantitative correlational study were to investigate the lag time, or drug lag, between U.S. approval and the approval of selected drugs in all countries that hosted their pivotal clinical trials. The study population was limited to products approved first in the U.S. between 2006 and 2015. The health capability model and research for health justice framework were the theoretical frameworks for the study. …

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Health For All: Using Utilitarianism To Require Childhood Vaccinations, Hannah Vercellotti

Augustana Center for the Study of Ethics Essay Contest

In the last few decades, many parents have chosen not to vaccinate their children against serious infectious diseases. In seeking exemptions, they often cite conflicting religious beliefs and fear of risks. Using the principle of utilitarianism, this paper argues that despite parents' cited religious beliefs and concerns about risks, state laws should require all children to get vaccinated unless doing so would cause direct harm to the child’s health. Adopting this mandate would ensure that the maximum number of people would benefit from immunity to serious and deadly diseases.

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The Bionic Brain: Pragmatic Neuroethics And The Moral Plausibility Of Cognitive Enhancement, Peter A. Depergola Ii

Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

The seemingly infinite possibilities of contemporary neuroscience span from the augmentation of memory, executive function, appetite, libido, sleep, and mood, to the maturation and development of emotional health and personality. These prospects hint at the capacity to alter neurocognitive conceptions of reality. They also mark the unavoidable inculcation of nuanced individual responses, perhaps radical, to these “tailor- made” perceptions. Hence, there exists certain neuroethical, and even more generally, existential risks within this fascinating and expeditious enterprise. The primary question in the context of present-day neurotechnology is not what can be done, but what should be. To that end, this paper …

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Florida Adult Trauma Scorecard Methodology And Scene Transportation Choice, Patricia Maher

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Prehospital management of patients who are traumatically injured within the state of Florida starts with the use of the Florida Adult Trauma Scorecard Methodology. The scorecard methodology may indicate that a patient is a Trauma Alert based on applied physiological and other judgment criteria. However, patients may be transported via Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) without justified physiological needs. Rawls’ theory of justice posits that a fair and equal distribution of social resources is essential to public wellbeing. To evaluate this premise regarding prehospital trauma transports, archival 2015 data from the Florida Department of Health Trauma Registry was obtained. Using …

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Full-Text Articles in Bioethics and Medical Ethics

Introduction: Notes From The Bedside, Sheila P. Davis

Journal of Health Ethics

Living With Productive Discomfort: Ethical Reflections On Critical Care Medicine, Peter A. Depergola Ii

Journal of Health Ethics

The Bionic Brain: Pragmatic Neuroethics And The Moral Plausibility Of Cognitive Enhancement, Peter A. Depergola Ii

Journal of Health Ethics

Behind The Mask Of Morality: (E)Urochristian Bioethics And The Colonial-Racial Discourse, Jennifer L. Mccurdy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Refinement On The Way Towards Replacement: Are We Doing What We Can?, Kathrin Herrmann

Humane Science Movement Collection

Retrospective Review Of Anesthetic And Analgesic Regimens Used In Animal Research Proposals, Kathrin Herrmann, Paul A. Flecknell

Experimental Research and Animal Welfare Collection

Contesting Animal Experiments Through Ethics And Epistemology: In Defense Of A Political Critique Of Animal Experimentation, Arianna Ferrari

Professional Science Research Ethics Collection

How Can The Final Goal Of Completely Replacing Animal Procedures Successfully Be Achieved?, Christiane Baumgartl-Simons, Christiane Hohense

Validation of Alternative Methods Collection

The Moral Status Of Animal Research Subjects In Industry: A Stakeholder Analysis, Sarah Kenehan

Morality and Ethics of Animal Experimentation Collection

How To Evaluate The Science Of Non-Human Animal Use In Biomedical Research And Testing: A Proposed Format For Debate, Ray Greek, Lisa A. Kramer

Validation of Alternative Methods Collection

Rethinking The 3rs: From Whitewashing To Rights, Charlotte E. Blattner

Humane Science Movement Collection

Beyond Plausibility Checks: A Case For Moral Doubt In Review Processes Of Animal Experimentation, Mara-Daria Cojocaru, Philipp Von Gall

Morality and Ethics of Animal Experimentation Collection

Human Wrongs In Animal Research: A Focus On Moral Injury And Reification, Jane Johnson, Anna Smajdor

Morality and Ethics of Animal Experimentation Collection

Replacing Animal Tests To Improve Safety For Humans, Kathy Archibald, Robert Coleman, Tamara Drake

Application of Alternative Methods Collection

The Changing Paradigm In Preclinical Toxicology: In Vitro And In Silico Methods In Liver Toxicity Evaluations, Fozia Noor

Application of Alternative Methods Collection

The Potential Of Organ On Chip Technology For Replacing Animal Testing, Malcolm Wilkinson

Human Clinical Trials Collection

Recent Developments In Alternatives To Animal Testing, Katy Taylor

Application of Alternative Methods Collection

Behavioral Research On Captive Animals: Scientific And Ethical Concerns, Kimberley Jayne, Adam See

Morality and Ethics of Animal Experimentation Collection

When Is An Alternative Not An Alternative? Supporting Progress For Absolute Replacement Of Animals In Science, Craig Redmond

Humane Science Movement Collection

Research And Testing Without Animals: Where Are We Now And Where Are We Heading?, Thomas Hartung

Humane Science Movement Collection

Ethics, Efficacy, And Decision-Making In Animal Research, Lawrence A. Hansen, Kori Ann Kosberg

Morality and Ethics of Animal Experimentation Collection

Consequences And Management Of Canine Brachycephaly In Veterinary Practice: Perspectives From Australian Veterinarians And Veterinary Specialists, Anne Fawcett, Vanessa Barrs, Magdoline Awad, Georgina Child, Laurencie Brunel, Erin Mooney, Fernando Martinez-Taboada, Beth Mcdonald, Paul Mcgreevy

Professional Veterinary Ethics Collection

Ethical And Scientific Pitfalls Concerning Laboratory Research With Non-Human Primates, And Possible Solutions, Constança Carvalho, Augusta Gaspar, Andrew Knight, Luís Vicente

Morality and Ethics of Animal Experimentation Collection

The Ethics Of An Unlicensed Medical Practitioner, Charles C. Escott

Writing Across the Curriculum

Sexual Mutilation Of Muslim Girls, Today In The United States, Robert Brannon

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Strategies Healthcare Managers Use To Reduce Hospital-Acquired Infections, Yohannes Debesai

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Globalization Of Clinical Research And Assessment Of Global Access To Treatments Approved Between 2006-2015, Rafael Duncan Escandon

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Health For All: Using Utilitarianism To Require Childhood Vaccinations, Hannah Vercellotti

Augustana Center for the Study of Ethics Essay Contest

The Bionic Brain: Pragmatic Neuroethics And The Moral Plausibility Of Cognitive Enhancement, Peter A. Depergola Ii

Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

Florida Adult Trauma Scorecard Methodology And Scene Transportation Choice, Patricia Maher

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies