bio ethics slides

Slides: What is bioethics?

Bioethics studies the ethical implications of issues like He Jiankui's experiment, carefully weighing different factors to reach a justified conclusion

Slides: What is the difference between ethics and morality?

Morality refers to the set of values, norms, and behaviors generally appreciated by a social group, while ethics is a critical reflection on morality that seeks to establish its validity

Slides: What was the He Jiankui gene-editing experiment?

He Jiankui claimed to have edited embryos using CRISPR to make twins Lulu and Nana immune to HIV, recruiting HIV-serodiscordant couples

Slides: What specific gene was edited in He Jiankui’s experiment, and why?

The CCR5 gene was edited with the alleged intention of preventing white blood cells from being infected by HIV

Slides: What was the outcome of He Jiankui’s experiment?

CRISPR modified the twins differently—one had only one chromosome altered, the other had both, but they were mosaic (not all cells were edited)

Slides: Why is He Jiankui’s experiment controversial in bioethics?

It involved germline edits that may pass to future generations, raising ethical and safety concerns regarding unknown long-term consequences

Slides: How does bioethics evaluate controversial cases like He Jiankui’s experiment?

Bioethics seeks to provide reasoned justification for moral judgments, systematically weighing scientific facts, moral principles, and societal implications

Slides: What are the four principles of biomedical ethics?

Non-maleficence, beneficence, autonomy, and justice

Slides: What does the principle of non-maleficence entail?

It means “First, do no harm,” and is strongly associated with deontological theories

Slides: What is the principle of beneficence in medical ethics?

It requires healthcare professionals to act in the best interest of their patients, often associated with consequentialist thinking

Slides: How is the principle of autonomy defined?

It respects the choices of competent and well-informed patients, aligning with Millian freedom to act on personal convictions

Slides: How is the principle of justice unique in biomedical ethics?

It emphasizes fairness and equity in healthcare, addressing resource allocation and societal responsibilities

Slides: What are prima facie principles according to Beauchamp and Childress?

Prima facie principles, like non-maleficence or beneficence, tend to make actions right or wrong but must be weighed against each other in specific circumstances

Slides: How is reflective equilibrium used in bioethics?

It involves mutual adjustment between moral principles and judgments to achieve coherence and justification for ethical conclusions

Slides: How do teleological and deontological theories differ in normative ethics?

Teleological theories evaluate actions based on their outcomes, while deontological theories focus on adherence to duties and principles

Slides: What is the origin of bioethics as a discipline?

Bioethics emerged in response to technological advances in the 1960s, such as kidney dialysis, organ transplants, and IVF

Slides: How do ethics and law differ?

While both regulate behavior, law is enforceable and has far-reaching sanctions, whereas ethics has a broader scope and relies on moral reasoning

Slides: What is the role of ethics consultation services?

They help identify, analyze, and resolve ethical dilemmas in healthcare settings, providing advice to patients, families, and medical professionals

Slides: What role does empirical bioethics play?

Empirical bioethics uses qualitative methods to understand attitudes and experiences, grounding ethical discussions in real-world contexts

Slides: How does bioethics engage with pluralism and interdisciplinarity?

Bioethics embraces multiple moral perspectives and expertise, avoiding domination by any single normative theory

Slides: What is the trichotomy of bioethics?

Bioethics involves three levels of reflection: theoretical (philosophical), clinical (context-dependent), and policy development (advisory for broader cases)

Slides: How is moral status attributed in bioethics?

Moral status is determined based on characteristics like being human, sentience (pleasure/pain), or possessing rational capacities

Slides: What challenge does the ontological personhood criterion face regarding embryos?

Early embryos are argued to lack ontological continuity with fetuses due to totipotency and the possibility of twinning

Slides: What is the significance of Peter Singer’s position in bioethics?

Singer argues for equal moral consideration of sentient beings to avoid speciesism, influencing debates on animal ethics and abortion

Slides: How is bioethics linked to public discourse?

Bioethics informs public reasoning on moral dilemmas like euthanasia or abortion, ensuring arguments are justifiable and accessible to diverse audiences

Slides: What are the core aspects of the bioethical enterprise?

Bioethics is dilemma-driven, engages with practical experiences, emphasizes interdisciplinarity, and fosters pluralism in moral reasoning

Slides: Provide a substantive schematization of the He Jiankui experiment’s bioethical debate.

The experiment involved germline gene editing (CCR5) in embryos to prevent HIV, raising issues of non-maleficence (unknown risks), autonomy (informed consent), and justice (implications for future generations). Bioethicists criticize its experimental nature and the potential for passing modifications to descendants. Proponents argue it addresses severe health risks, while opponents highlight safety, ethical, and societal concernst me know if you need refinements or flashcards from specific sections!

Slides 1311: What is germline genome editing (GGE) and why is it ethically significant? Germline genome editing (GGE) involves altering genes in embryos, which affects all future generations.

Slides 1311: What are the two key aims of a moratorium on germline genome editing?

The first aim is to enforce a temporary self-limitation on the research and clinical application of GGE.
The second aim is to build trust between scientists and the public while ensuring ethical and societal reflection

Slides 1311: How does the “Playing God” argument relate to GGE? The "Playing God" argument claims that altering human genomes interferes with natural or divine processes.

Critics argue that humans should not wield such power, as it disrupts the natural order and carries unforeseen consequences

Slides 1311: How does germline genome editing relate to the principle of autonomy?

GGE challenges the principle of autonomy because the individuals affected (future generations) cannot give consent. This lack of consent raises ethical questions about violating the rights of future persons

Slides 1311: What are the potential risks and benefits of germline genome editing? The benefits include eliminating genetic diseases and improving human health, while risks involve unforeseen long-term consequences, safety issues, and widening social inequalities.

The technology also carries concerns of misuse, such as creating "designer babies"

Slides 1311: What is the “slippery slope” argument in the GGE debate? Germline Genome Editing

The slippery slope argument suggests that allowing GGE for medical purposes could lead to non-therapeutic or enhancement uses.This could result in ethically unacceptable practices, such as genetic modifications for intelligence or appearance

Slides 1311: What role does justice play in the germline genome editing debate? Justice concerns whether GGE would widen social inequalities by only being accessible to the wealthy.

It raises questions about fair access, distributive justice, and the societal impact of genetic enhancement

Slides 1311: How did He Jiankui’s gene-editing experiment violate bioethical norms? He Jiankui edited CCR5 genes in embryos to prevent HIV, but the experiment lacked proper consent, oversight, and transparency.

It sparked global criticism for breaching ethical standards and prioritizing experimentation over safety

Slides 1311: What counterarguments exist against banning GGE altogether?

Proponents argue that GGE could save lives by eliminating genetic disorders and that bans would hinder scientific progress.They claim ethical concerns can be addressed through strict regulation and oversight

Slides 1311: What are the long-term implications of GGE for society? Long-term implications include potential health benefits, but also risks of genetic discrimination, loss of diversity, and unforeseen harm to future generations.

These implications require careful ethical reflection and global consensus.

Slides 2211: What is bioethics according to the provided definition?

Bioethics studies the ethical implications of biomedical developments and public health decisions, weighing various factors to establish their value and hierarchy for justifying actions or omissions.

Slides 2211: What ethical distinction is emphasized between ethics and morality?

Morality refers to the set of social values and norms, while ethics provides critical reflection on these norms to establish validity or correct irrational elements.

Slides 2211: How does bioethics address issues like the He Jiankui case?

Bioethics critically evaluates cases such as He Jiankui’s gene-editing experiment by weighing scientific facts, ethical norms, and public health implications to form a reasoned judgment.

Slides 2211: How do ethics contribute to public discourse on controversial topics?

Ethics contribute by providing reasoned, non-religious arguments that can be universally justified and accepted within a pluralistic society.

Slides 2211: What are the main principles of bioethics introduced by Beauchamp and Childress?

The four principles are autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence, and justice, aimed at creating a common ethical ground for resolving bioethical dilemmas.

Slides 2211: What is the reflective equilibrium approach in bioethics?

Reflective equilibrium involves mutual adjustment between principles and moral judgments to achieve coherence, allowing flexibility in addressing ethical dilemmas.

Kid explanation: In short: Reflective equilibrium is like double-checking that your gut feeling and your reasoning agree. If they don’t, you adjust until they do. 😊

Slides 2211: How is moral status defined, and why is it significant in bioethics?

Moral status entails being a source of obligations for moral agents, influencing decisions regarding harm and protection in biomedical contexts.

Slides 2211: What challenges arise from assigning moral status based on personhood?

Assigning moral status to entities like embryos or cognitively impaired individuals raises issues of ontological criteria, potentiality arguments, and moral relevance.

Slides 2211: What are the critiques of Michael Tooley's self-consciousness criterion?

Critics argue it excludes fetuses and infants from personhood by emphasizing self-awareness, while others challenge its application to non-human entities like "Tooley's kitten."

Slides 2211: How does Susan Sherwin's feminist approach view abortion ethics?

Sherwin emphasizes the relational context of pregnancy, asserting that the moral status of the fetus should align with the values and autonomy of the pregnant woman.

Slides 2211: Summarize the traditional arguments for and against abortion and their implications.

The traditional anti-abortion stance relies on the moral status of the fetus as a human being, while pro-abortion arguments emphasize bodily autonomy and social context.

Slides 2211: What is the “future like ours” argument by Marquis?

Killing is wrong because it deprives the victim of future experiences

by extension, abortion is wrong as it denies a fetus a valuable future.

Slides 2211: How does bioethics reconcile secular and religious perspectives in public discourse?

Bioethics integrates pluralistic views by focusing on arguments with universal appeal, excluding faith-based reasoning while acknowledging diverse moral traditions.

Slides 2211: How is empirical bioethics integrated into bioethical discussions?

Empirical bioethics employs qualitative methods to explore the attitudes and experiences of those impacted by ethical decisions, grounding bioethical reflections in real-world contexts.

Slides 2211: Summarize the trichotomy of bioethics and its interdisciplinary nature.

Bioethics spans theoretical reflection (philosophical), clinical application (case-specific), and policy advising (public ethics), requiring interdisciplinary collaboration.

Slides 2211: Why is bioethics considered a secular and pluralistic discourse?

Bioethics seeks rational justifications for moral problems, emphasizing public reasoning over religious or ideological dogmas to address complex societal issues. ]

Slides 11-11: What is Roe v. Wade, and what is its significance?

Roe v. Wade (1973) established that abortion is constitutionally protected under the right to privacy. It ruled that the term “person” in the 14th Amendment does not apply to the unborn. States cannot enforce laws based on controversial theories of life’s beginning to limit a pregnant woman’s interests. The ruling structured the permissibility of abortion across three trimesters, where laws cannot interfere in the first trimester, restrictions apply after that, and prohibitions are allowed in the third trimester unless preserving the mother’s life or health

Slides 11-11: How does Italian abortion legislation (Law 194/78) differ from Roe v. Wade?

In Italy, abortion under Law 194/78 is considered a social problem, not merely a private matter. The state balances conflicting rights: the right to life of the fetus vs. the mother’s physical/mental health. Abortion is decriminalized if the mother’s health is in danger. The state funds the procedure under the right to health, unlike the U.S., where abortion rights rely more on individual privacy and autonomy

Slides 11-11: What role does the “right to health” play in Italian abortion law?

The right to health ensures that abortion is state-funded in cases where the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman is threatened. It emphasizes the social protection of motherhood while balancing the fetus’s right to life with the woman’s health needs

Slides 11-11: At what developmental stage does the embryo begin gastrulation, and what occurs?

Gastrulation begins around the 14th day. At this stage, cell differentiation starts, forming tissues and organs, and the primitive streak emerges. This marks the end of the pre-embryonic period, which some bioethicists use as a threshold for considering moral status

Slides 11-11: What is the traditional syllogistic argument against abortion?

i) All innocent human beings have the right to life

ii) The fetus/embryo is an innocent human being

iii) Therefore, the fetus/embryo has the right to life. Since iv) Direct abortion violates this right, the conclusion is: v) Voluntary abortion is morally wrong

Slides 11-11: How does Peter Singer define a “human being” in the context of the abortion debate?

Singer argues that a human being can be defined as a “member of the species Homo sapiens,” determinable through scientific examination of chromosomes in living cells. Under this definition, both embryos and severely disabled individuals are biologically human, regardless of their cognitive capacities

Slides 11-11: How does Peter Singer challenge the traditional concept of a “human person”?

Singer distinguishes between being biologically human and being a “person.” He argues that moral personhood requires specific traits like rationality, self-awareness, and the capacity for desires, which embryos and severely impaired individuals lack. This distinction undermines the traditional argument against abortion

Slides 11-11: What happens during the early stages of embryonic development?

day 1 - 4 Totipotence: , embryonic cells are totipotent, meaning they can develop into any cell type
day 4: Up to the morula stage. By day four, the cells lose totipotency and become pluripotent.
6th-8th : After implantation begins, the cells further differentiate
day 14, gastrulation starts

Slides 11-11: Provide a substantive schematization of the abortion debate, including stances, arguments, and counterarguments.

The abortion debate centers on the right to life of the fetus versus the woman’s autonomy. Traditional arguments claim that all human beings, including embryos, have a right to life, making abortion morally wrong. Counterarguments, such as those by Singer, distinguish between biological humanity and personhood to refute this claim. Roe v. Wade established abortion as a privacy right but allowed increasing state intervention as the pregnancy progresses. Italian Law 194/78 frames abortion as a social issue, balancing fetal and maternal rights, with the state funding abortions when health is at risk. Ethical discussions consider thresholds like gastrulation (14th day) and viability, as well as feminist critiques emphasizing bodily autonomy and social justice

Slides 11-11: What is the critical period for brain development during pregnancy?

The critical period for brain development occurs between the 12th and 16th weeks of pregnancy. During this time, neurons proliferate and migrate, forming different areas of the brain

Slides 11-11: How does the concept of viability influence the abortion debate?

Viability refers to the point at which a fetus can survive outside the womb, typically around 24-28 weeks. Roe v. Wade allows states to prohibit abortions post-viability unless the mother’s life or health is at risk. Viability introduces a legal and ethical threshold for balancing fetal and maternal rights

Slides 24-09: What is bioethics and what is its purpose? Bioethics is the study of the ethical implications of biomedical issues, carefully weighing different factors, establishing their value and hierarchy to justify actions or omissions in specific contexts

To reflect on moral issues and dilemmas, particularly those emerging from technological advancements in medicine and biology

Slides 24-09: What is the difference between ethics and morality? Morality is the set of values, norms, and behaviors appreciated within a social group at a given time, while ethics (moral philosophy) provides critical reflection on morality, seeking its rational justification or correction

Ethics critiques and rationalizes morality to establish its validity or improve unjustifiable elements

Slides 24-09: How does bioethics address public and private moral discourse? Bioethics engages both private ethical reflection (personal decisions) and public discourse, especially for topics with a societal impact, requiring public reason-based arguments

Public bioethics ensures moral rules and decisions are acceptable to all in pluralistic societies

Slides 24-09: What is the case of He Jiankui’s gene-editing experiment?

He Jiankui used CRISPR to modify embryos’ CCR5 genes to prevent HIV. The experiment produced genetically modified twins (Lulu and Nana) but resulted in unintended "mosaic" edits, The case raised ethical questions regarding germline editing, informed consent, and long-term consequences (Alonso & Savulescu, 2021)

Slides 24-09: How does bioethics respond to religious arguments? Bioethics rejects arguments based solely on religious authority because they lack secular universality and cannot serve as public reasons in ethical discussions

Religious traditions can contribute to bioethics if their arguments are articulated in terms of universal moral reasoning (Cahill, 1990)

Slides 24-09: What are the similarities and differences between ethics and law? Both ethics and law are mechanisms to ensure harmonious living and resolve conflicts of interest, but law involves enforceable sanctions while ethics applies to broader moral relationships

Ethics has a wider scope than law, addressing personal, societal, and environmental responsibilities

Slides 24-09: How is bioethics both theoretical and practical? Bioethics operates on three levels: theoretical reflection (philosophical analysis), biomedical case consultation (practical cases), and policy development (general ethical frameworks)

This trichotomy highlights bioethics’ interdisciplinary, normative, and applied nature

Slides 24-09: What are moral and legal rights? Legal rights are enforceable and codified, with negative rights requiring no social resources and positive rights demanding resource allocation. Moral rights are argued, not enforced by law

Moral rights can be the starting point for advocating legal rights or concluding ethical arguments

Slides 24-09: What are normative ethical theories in bioethics? Normative theories include teleological (end-focused, e.g., utilitarianism) and deontological (duty-focused, e.g., Kantian ethics) approaches to evaluate moral actions

Bioethics applies these theories contextually to address ethical dilemmas in medicine and research

Slides 24-09: What is the ‘no special pleading’ perspective in bioethics?

The no special pleading perspective ensures no dominant moral theory silences others, fostering dialogue between plural ethical approaches. It encourages broader assumptions to accommodate diverse moral points of view in public bioethics debates

Slides 24-09: What are the four principles of biomedical ethics proposed by Beauchamp and Childress?

The principles are autonomy (respect for patient choices), non-maleficence (do no harm), beneficence (act in the patient’s best interest), and justice (fair distribution of resources) These principles serve as a shared moral foundation for bioethical issues

Slides 24-09: How are the four principles applied in practice? The principles are prima facie, meaning they apply unless overridden by stronger moral considerations in specific cases. They are subject to interpretation, specification, and balancing

This flexibility allows diverse ethical perspectives to coexist while addressing complex issues

Slides 24-09: What is moral status, and how is it attributed? Moral status refers to the ability to be a source of moral obligations. It is attributed based on characteristics such as being human, being sentient, or having life

Different approaches use either a threshold (minimum capacity) or degree-based criteria for moral status

Slides 24-09: What is Singer’s position on animal ethics and speciesism? Peter Singer argues that all sentient beings capable of pleasure and pain deserve equal moral consideration, condemning speciesism (anthropocentric bias)

Singer’s position challenges practices like animal experimentation and meat consumption

Slides 24-09: What is the traditional argument against abortion?

The argument states that all innocent human beings have the right to life, the fetus is an innocent human being, and abortion violates its right to life Therefore, voluntary abortion is deemed morally wrong by this argument

Slides 24-09: How does bioethics address the abortion debate in Italy?

Italian law (Law 194/78) balances the right to life of the fetus with the mother’s physical and mental health, treating abortion as a social issue rather than a private choice. The state funds the procedure but emphasizes social protection of motherhood

Slides 24-09: How does bioethics engage with empirical evidence?

Empirical bioethics uses qualitative and quantitative methods to investigate attitudes and experiences of stakeholders, informing theoretical and practical ethical analysis.

It ensures ethical decisions are grounded in real-world contexts and perspectives

Slides 24-09: What is the reflective equilibrium model in bioethics? Reflective equilibrium involves mutual adjustment between principles and judgments to achieve moral coherence, drawing on Rawls’ consistency model

This approach justifies ethical decisions by aligning them with common morality

Slides 24-09: How is bioethics interdisciplinary, and does this challenge expertise? Bioethics integrates multiple disciplines (philosophy, medicine, law) to address complex moral problems. No single person can claim expertise over all bioethical issues

Expertise is area-specific, requiring collaboration across disciplines for comprehensive solutions

Slides 24-09: How does bioethics differ from traditional medical ethics?

Bioethics rejects paternalism, emphasizes autonomy, addresses new technological challenges, and focuses on public morality over private physician-patient relationships. It is pluralistic, interdisciplinary, and concerned with societal impacts of biomedical advances.