PHILOSOPHY 214: Biomedical Ethics
- Spring Semester, 2003
- Dr. Scott Kimbrough
- Office Hours: M 4:00-5:00, W 9:30-12:30, or by appointment
- Office: Council 127
- Phone: 256-7118
- Direct questions and comments to my
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Last updated 4/2/03
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Course Description
The goal of the class is to think in a clear way about some of the ethical problems that arise for medical professionals, their patients, and public policy makers, exploring various ways for individuals and institutions to accommodate and balance more fundamental values. Topics to be discussed include informed consent, the right to die, assisted suicide, reproductive issues, cloning, genetic manipulation and screening, medical experimentation, and the allocation of health care resources.
Textbook
- Beauchamp and Walters (editors). Contemporary Issues in Bioethics, Sixth Edition. Thomson/Wadsworth Publishers. 2003.
Course Requirements
- Participation and Attendance: (10%) Because each class meeting represents a full week of classes, attendance is required. Participation in discussions is expected.
- Issue Summaries (10%) An approximately one page issue summary will be due every week (unless directed otherwise). Issue summaries identify the main parties involved and the major points of contention among them with respect to particular course topics. Issue summaries will be graded on a pass/fail basis. The final grade for issue summaries is an A if all are completed. The grade falls by one letter for each assignment skipped or failed.
- Current Events Reports (10%) Each student will provide two reports on current events related to the topic for class. "Current events" include court decisions, biomedical research results, controversial examples, recent or proposed legislation or regulations, etc. The reports will be presented to the class. (No issue summary is due for the classes in which a student presents a current events report.)
- Debates (20%): Each student will sign up for two debates during the course of the semester. The format for the
debates will be discussed in class.
- Papers (15% each): Two three to five page argumentative essays will be assigned during the course of the semester. Due dates will be announced at least two weeks in advance.
- Final Exam (20%): The comprehensive final exam is essay format.
Rules of the game
Because many of the topics to be discussed in this class are highly controversial and often emotionally charged, students are asked to adopt an open-minded attitude that is both fair and slow to take offense. The purpose of our investigations is to explore, as openly and objectively as we can, the philosophical justification for the views considered in the course texts or voiced by members of the class. No specific conclusions will be expected of anyone. Rather, the emphasis will be on how well one's conclusions are defended.
Plagiarism
There is no worse academic sin than plagiarism. Plagiarism consists in copying the work of another, in whole or in part, without citing the source. Plagiarized work will receive a zero.
Reading assignments
- 1/27 Informed consent, refusal of treatment, and advance directives: pp.112-115, pp.139-176
- 2/3 The right to die, physician assisted suicide: pp.179-184, pp.186-234
- 2/17 Abortion: pp.263-267, pp.270-321
- 2/24 The ethics of biomedical research: pp.345-350, pp.354-363, pp.371-403
- 3/10 Genetic screening and genetic enhancement: pp.453-456, pp.522-553
- 3/17 Infertility and IVF: pp.563-5, pp.569-591
- 3/24 Cloning: pp.565-566, pp.593-635
- 3/31 Stem cell research: pp.566-567, pp.636-659
- 4/7 AIDS: pp.665-6, pp.671-675, pp.708-723, pp.731-748
- 4/14 Bioterrorism: p.670, pp.761-793
- 4/21 Access to healthcare: pp.39-46, pp.46-106
Issue summary topics
- 1/27 Informed consent
- 2/3 Assisted suicide
- 2/17 Legal status of abortion
- 2/24 Randomized clinical trials
- 3/10 No issue summary due
- 3/17 IVF
- 3/24 Reproductive cloning
- 3/31 Stem cell research
- 4/7 HIV screening
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