Bioethics is a relatively new field of scientific study. Bioethics deals with the relationship of biology and medicine, and the ethical dilemmas that scientist’s face. There are many areas of science where scientists are faced with these difficult ethical questions.
Bioethicists are concerned about ethical topics such as euthanasia, genetics, abortion, organ donation, stem cell research and a variety of other topics. Each of these topics has been known to spark debate among the population, and people feel strongly on both sides of the debate. These debates have been in the news recently and continue to be hotly contested topics. To learn more about the subject of bioethics and many of the controversial topics, please feel free to view the following resources:
Bioethics of the Pandemic & COVID-19 Vaccine
- Ethical Dilemmas Of The Pandemic – An article that discusses how to think through the ethical implications of COVID-19.
- Ethical Issues Regarding the Early Approval and Deployment – The current pandemic demands early licensing and deployment of a vaccine against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) that provides “worthwhile” efficacy. However, accomplishing this goal could compromise 2 ethical principles that guide clinical research—scientific validity and social value.
- COVID-19 Vaccine Trials and Incarcerated People – The most severe Covid-19 outbreaks in the United States are no longer occurring in nursing homes or meat-packing plants, but in correctional facilities.
- COVID-19 Vaccine Ethics Research (COVER) – An interdisciplinary team investigating a wide range of ethical issues related to COVID-19 vaccine development and deployment.
- Coronavirus Ethics and Policy Insights and Resources – The Berman Institute of Bioethics is striving to ensure that the international public health response to COVID-19 is ethically informed as well as effective.
- Advisory Committee on Allocating Initial Supplies of COVID-19 Vaccine – During the period when the U.S. supply of COVID-19 vaccines is limited, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) will make vaccine allocation recommendations.
Death and Dying
- Definition of Bioethics – a definition and general information about the study of bioethics in science.
- Euthanasia and Bioethics – information about the ethics of euthanasia.
- Difference Between Euthanasia, Assisted Dying and Assisted Suicide – Most, but not all, jurisdictions that allow some form of euthanasia or assisted suicide require the involvement of medical professionals.
- What is Death? – The difference between dead and alive can be straightforward to delineate in the right context. Except it isn’t that simple at all — in the inpatient setting.
- Bioethics of Dying – brief look at an article discussing the bioethics of dying.
Genetics
- Online Bioethics Resources – informative resources pertaining to the ethical treatment of genetics.
- Genetic Ethics – information on genetic topics in science and the ethical dilemmas.
- Ethical Issues in Genetic Testing – There are several aspects of genetic testing that may lead to ethical dilemmas.
Mental Health
- Resources About Bioethics in Mental Health – collection of articles in the field of bioethics and mental health.
- AMA Journal of Ethics – Mental Health – Contributors consider what caregivers’ responses to patients’ mental health needs and patients’ perceptions of their own mental illness express about the values of our health care system and society.
- Ethics in Psychiatric Research – There is a trend toward higher rates of retraction of published papers in the recent years. Ethics is required to maintain and increase the overall quality and morality of research..
- Clinical and Social Contexts of Ethical Issues in Mental Health Care – One recent study found that the average wait time for a first outpatient psychiatry visit in large urban areas is 25 days.
- Resources – helpful collection of bioethics resources, including mental health topics.
Organ Donation
- An economic study: should we sell human organs? – this study explores whether or not one should sell human organs.
- Ethics of Organ Transplantation: A Brief History – The impossible dream of replacing a dead or dying vital organ, such as a kidney or a heart, with a living one became a reality on December 23, 1954.
- Organ and Tissue Transplant – information from the WHO about the ethics of organ and tissue transplants.
- Ethics of Organ Transplantation – comprehensive overview of the organ donation process and the ethical concerns.
- Take My Kidney, Please – the story of a woman’s need for a kidney transplant, and her father’s offer to donate his only kidney.
- Pro/con ethics debate: When is dead really dead? – the problem of defining death in the ICU as a function of viable organ availability for transplantation.
Animal Testing
- Animal Research Ethics – list of topical resources collated and maintained by the Bioethics Research Library of the Kennedy Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University.
- Animal Testing and Ethics – very informative resource discussing the various aspects of testing on animals.
- Animal Ethics – articles and other resources on how animals are treated in the scientific community and their place in scientific discoveries.
- Animal Testing and Ethics – helpful information on the ethical discussion of animal testing.
- American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine – The American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine advances the humane care and responsible use of laboratory animals through certification of veterinary specialists, professional development, education and research.
Bioethics Research Organizations
- Albert Gnaegi Center for Health Care Ethics
- Bangladesh Bioethics Society
- Center for Genetics and Society
- Center for the Study of Bioethics
- The Institute on Biotechnology and the Human Future
- Johns Hopkins – The Berman Institute of Bioethics
- Kennedy Institute of Ethics
- MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics
- National Bioethics Advisory Commission
- National Catholic Bioethics Center
- Nuffield Council on Bioethics
- The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity
- The Regenerative Medicine Institute
- The Hastings Center
- University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics
Other Bioethical Resources
- Bioethics Information Resources – collection of resources on bioethics.
- National Institutes of Health – Bioethics – informative resources on the subject of bioethics.
- Other Bioethics Resources – helpful collection of information and resources on various topics in the bioethics area.
- Bioethics Resources – information and resources on bioethics in the healthcare industry.
- Teaching Ethics for Research, Scholarship, & Practice – Useful bioethics resources from The University of Minnesota.
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