1 / 40

Bioethics

Bioethics. Bethune Cookman University Ethics Prof. Rodriguez. Challenges of Bioethics. A new area of scientific exploration Offers great potential Offers great challenges

oro
Télécharger la présentation

Bioethics

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Bioethics Bethune Cookman University Ethics Prof. Rodriguez

  2. 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)

  3. Introduction • Johan Gregor Mendel (1822-1884) • Father of Genetics

  4. Introduction • James Watson & Francis Crick • Discovery of Double Helix (DNA) 1953

  5. Introduction • Human Genome Project (1990-2003) • Identified 20-25,000 genes in human DNA • http://www.nhgri.nih.gov/HGP/

  6. 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

  7. 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

  8. 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)

  9. Stem Cell Research

  10. Stem Cell Research • Ethical Debate: Normal Sexual Reproduction:

  11. Stem Cell Research

  12. 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

  13. Stem CELL RESEARCH

  14. Stem Cell Research Ethical Debate: • Destruction of human embryos • Creation of chimeras (animals with human cells and organs • Destruction of frozen embryos not being used

  15. Sheep-Goat Chimera

  16. Para-Human Chimera: Artists Conception (Patricia Piccinini) http://www.patriciapiccinini.net/

  17. Stem Cell Research • Ethical Guidelines: • Do not let chimeraic animals mate (could lead to conceiving a human being) • Do not allow human stem cells to become a part of animal’s brain or injected into other primates • Embryos should not be allowed to develop more than 14 days

  18. 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.

  19. Human Cloning • Moral dilemma: • Cloning is asexual reproduction

  20. Human Cloning • Dolly the sheep (1997-2003)

  21. Human Cloning

  22. Human Cloning Ethical Issues: • Cloning human beings • Playing God • Moral and legal status of clones • Abnormalities in perfecting the procedure • Aesthetic concerns (moral revulsion, abomination, “yuck factor”)

  23. 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

  24. 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

  25. Genetic Modification of Food • Genetic modification of plants and vegetables:

  26. Genetic Modification of Food • Genetic manipulation of animals

  27. 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

  28. 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

  29. Similarities between human & porcine organs

  30. Organ harvesting

  31. Example 7: Potential & Challenge:Genetic Screening

  32. 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

More Related