Bioethics Lecture Review- correct

Vocabulary flashcards based on lecture notes covering key concepts in bioethics.

Nuremberg Code (1947)

Ethical rules for human research, emphasizing informed consent, established after Nazi war crimes.

Tuskegee Study

U.S. study where Black men with syphilis were denied treatment.

Jewish Chronic Disease Hospital Case

Elderly patients injected with cancer cells without their consent.

Autonomy

Respect patients' choices, honor patient choices.

Beneficence

Promote well-being, help others.

Nonmaleficence

Avoid causing harm, do no harm.

Justice

Distribute care fairly.

Descriptive

Says what is; can be proven true or false.

Normative

Says what should be; judgment or opinion about right or wrong.

Utilitarianism

Best outcome equals the most happiness.

Deontology (Kant)

Follow duty, not results.

Reflective Equilibrium

Balance between principles and gut instincts.

Bottom-Up Reasoning (Casuistry)

Look at real-life cases to guide new ones; focus on practical wisdom.

Principlism

Method in bioethics using four basic moral principles to guide ethical decision-making.

Autonomy

Stressed the right to refuse treatment in the Karen Ann Quinlan case.

Elizabeth Bouvia Case

Disabled woman who wanted to starve herself in a hospital, raising issues about disability, dignity, and autonomy.

Brittany Maynard Case

Terminally ill woman who moved to Oregon to use physician-assisted death law and advocated for PAD.

Brain Death

Total and irreversible loss of all brain function.

PVS (Persistent Vegetative State)

Awake but unaware.

Dead Donor Rule

Organs can only be taken from someone who is legally dead.

Jahi McMath Case

Teen declared brain dead after surgery complications; raised questions about definitions of death.

PAD

Doctor provides means to die (e.g., medication).

Euthanasia

Doctor directly causes death.

Doctrine of Double Effect

It is sometimes okay to cause harm if the harm is not intended and the action has a good effect.

Doing vs. Allowing

Worse to do harm than to allow death.

Medical Model of Disability

Disability is a defect in the person.

Social Model of Disability

Disability is barriers created by society.

Joe Stramondo’s Critique

Triage plans during COVID excluded disabled people, assuming disabled lives are lower quality.

Disability Paradox

Disabled people report good quality of life, even when others assume they suffer.

Impairment

Physical/mental condition.

Disability

Functional limitation.

Handicap

Social disadvantage.

Rule of Hypodescent

If a person has any Black ancestry, they are classified as Black.

Medical Model of Disability

Biological defect to be fixed.

Social Model of Disability

Society’s failure to accommodate variation.

Alice Wong & Joe Stramondo's Critiques

Frameworks that use “quality of life” to make decisions often misjudge disabled people’s lives.

Impairment

Physical/mental abnormality (e.g., damaged cilia in ears).

Disability

Functional limitation (e.g., can’t hear speech).

Handicap

Social disadvantage (e.g., falling behind in class without accommodation).

Main Ethical Question (Vaccine Mandates)

Can the state limit individual liberty to enforce vaccination?

Mill’s Harm Principle

If someone’s behavior harms others, the state can interfere.

Libertarian View (Vaccine Mandates)

Coercion to produce public goods is unjustified.

Response to Libertarian View

Vaccination isn’t just a public good — unvaccinated people pose direct harm.

Availability (Vaccine Mandate Condition)

The vaccine must be offered to all groups being mandated.

Ongoing Threat (Vaccine Mandate Condition)

A real, persisting public health risk.

Evidence (Vaccine Mandate Condition)

Strong data on safety and effectiveness.

Voluntariness (Vaccine Mandate Condition)

Mandates should follow efforts at voluntary uptake.

Respect for Persons

Autonomy, consent, protection for vulnerable.

Beneficence

Maximize benefits, minimize harms.

Justice

Fair sharing of research burdens and benefits.

Declaration of Helsinki (1964)

Research must not override subject welfare.

IRBs (Institutional Review Boards)

Committees that approve and monitor research ethics.

Therapeutic Misconception

People join studies thinking they’re getting personal medical care when it’s actually research.

Ethical Concern (Therapeutic Misconception)

Misunderstanding undermines informed consent.

Randomization

Subjects assigned to groups by chance to reduce bias.

Double-Blind

Neither doctors nor patients know who’s receiving treatment or placebo.

Clinical Equipoise

Medical community is uncertain about which treatment is best.

Surfaxin Trial (Bolivia)

Placebo trial for a drug not intended for local use; participants lacked access to effective surfactants.

Low-Dose AZT Trials (Africa)

Aimed to find cheaper HIV treatment for pregnant women; could directly benefit the local population.

Moral Premise (Animal Research)

If harming animals helps humans medically, it may be justified.

Empirical Premise (Animal Research)

Animal research is necessary for medical progress.

Cohen’s Argument Against Animal Rights

Only beings in moral communities can have rights.

Speciesism

Treating humans as more valuable just because of species membership.

Gennarelli Monkey Experiments

1970s head injury research using monkeys; sparked reforms in research ethics.

Replacement (3 R’s of Animal Research)

Use alternatives to animals when possible.

Reduction (3 R’s of Animal Research)

Use the fewest animals necessary.

Refinement (3 R’s of Animal Research)

Design studies to minimize suffering and improve welfare.

Animals Excluded from Federal Protections

Mice, Rats, Birds.

What is Speciesism?

Judging someone’s worth just by species — like racism but with animals.

The Doctrine of Double Effect says:

An action with a bad effect can be justified if that bad effect is not intended and is necessary to achieve a proportionately greater good