Transcript Bioethics

Bioethics
Bethune 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
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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:
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• Assisting severely •
injured persons
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• Addressing
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psychological
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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
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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”)
Example 5: Potential & Challenge:
Genetic Engineering
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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
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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
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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