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BioethicsBethune Cookman University
Ethics
Prof. Rodriguez
Challenges of Bioethics
• A new area of scientific exploration• Offers great potential• Offers great challenges
• Men ought not learn to play God before they learn to be men, and after they have learned to be men they will not play God. [emphasis mine]
(Paul Ramsey)
Introduction
• Johan Gregor Mendel (1822-1884)• Father of Genetics
Introduction
• James Watson & Francis Crick • Discovery of Double Helix (DNA) 1953
Introduction
• Human Genome Project (1990-2003)• Identified 20-25,000 genes in human DNA
• http://www.nhgri.nih.gov/HGP/
Example 1: Potential & Challenge:Reproductive Technologies
• Potential:• Assist infertile
couples in having children
• Address causes of infertility
• Challenges:• Commodification of life• Legal issues/problems• Racism• Economic inequality• Abuse• Confusion family roles
(traditional family)• Ethical concerns: scarce
med. resources, selfish motives, eugenics
Example 2: Potential & Challenge:Face transplants
• Potential:• Assisting severely
injured persons• Addressing
psychological concerns
• Giving people a chance at a normal life
• Challenges:• Donor concerns• Family concerns• Legal concerns• “Yuck” factor
Example 3: Potential & Challenge:Stem Cell Research
• Importance: ‘Blank cells’ (unspecialized) Capable of dividing and renewing
themselves for long periods of time (proliferation and renewal)
Have the potential to give rise to specialized cell types (differentiation)
Stem Cell Research
Stem Cell Research
• Ethical Debate:
Normal Sexual Reproduction:
Stem Cell Research
Stem Cell Research
• Two important cells:• Pluripotent cells- cells from which any body
organ can develop• Multipotent cells- cells from which limited or
specific types of organs can develop
Stem CELL RESEARCH
Stem Cell Research
Ethical Debate:
1) Destruction of human embryos
2) Creation of chimeras (animals with human cells and organs
3) Destruction of frozen embryos not being used
Sheep-Goat Chimera
Para-Human Chimera: Artists Conception (Patricia Piccinini)
http://www.patriciapiccinini.net/
Stem Cell Research
• Ethical Guidelines:
1) Do not let chimeraic animals mate (could lead to conceiving a human being)
2) Do not allow human stem cells to become a part of animal’s brain or injected into other primates
3) Embryos should not be allowed to develop more than 14 days
Example 4: Potential & Challenge: Human Cloning
Two types of cloning:• A) Therapeutic: Cloning for medical
purposes. Cloning tissues. Allowed and legal in U.S.
• B) Reproductive: Cloning to create a duplicate human being. Condemned and illegal in the U.S.
Human Cloning
• Moral dilemma:• Cloning is asexual reproduction
Human Cloning
• Dolly the sheep (1997-2003)
Human Cloning
Human Cloning
Ethical Issues:
1) Cloning human beings
2) Playing God
3) Moral and legal status of clones
4) Abnormalities in perfecting the procedure
5) Aesthetic concerns (moral revulsion, abomination, “yuck factor”)
Example 5: Potential & Challenge:Genetic Engineering
Benefits:• Address genetic abnormalities• Cure diseases• Tailor medicine and diet to specific individual
needs• Locate genes that cause various diseases,
conditions and traits
Genetic Engineering
Ethical Concerns:• Designer babies and Eugenics• Gene Therapy may undermine free will and
autonomy (turning off certain genes that determine behavior; “religious gene” or “gay gene”)
• Experimentation: (1) Are desperate individuals giving their true consent? (2) Abuse
• Upsetting the balance in nature
Genetic Modification of Food
• Genetic modification of plants and vegetables:
Genetic Modification of Food
• Genetic manipulation of animals
Genetic Manipulation of Food
Ethical Concerns:• Weighing benefits & risks:
– Benefits: Longer healthier lives– Risks: Unknown risks
• Interfering with nature• Animals can be modified to include
pharmaceuticals in their milk• Genetic manipulation in order to harvest
organs (pigs and heart valves)• Cloned animals in food supply
Example 6: Potential & Challenge: Xenotransplantation
• Pros:• Ameliorates organ
shortage• Replacement of the
heart, lungs, liver, & kidneys
• Biochemical profile of pigs & human are similar
• Genetic similarities with primates
• Cons:• Animals are GE• Animals destroyed
for harvesting • Rejection of organs
by human immune system as foreign
• Retro viruses• Viral infections• Human must refrain
from procreating
Similarities between human & porcine organs
Organ harvesting
Example 7: Potential & Challenge: Genetic Screening
Genetic Screening
Ethical Concerns:• Privacy
– People have a right to privacy• Public access to records
– Who should have access to your personal medical records?
– Data Banks• Conflicts of Interest (Employment, Insurance)• Genetic Discrimination
– Discriminating people based on condition and predisposition
– Genetic Profiling