Year 12 - Jewish Bioethics Brainstorm

Here is a mind map we made in class.

Year 12 - Questions For Bioethics

From an address by Most Rev Anthony Fisher OP: Launch of Catholic Bioethics for a New Millennium, University of Notre Dame Australia Sydney, Tuesday 31 January 2012

I wrote my first book while I was an undergraduate at the University of Sydney, an institution now best known for being near the University of Notre Dame. I was very involved in the pro-life movement at that time.

The book was on Abortion in Australia and I have been somewhat type-cast ever since: most of my publications have ended up being in the area of bioethics. I never dreamed where such pursuits might take me! Since then the questions in health ethics have only multiplied, such as:

• When do people begin and how would we know?
• What’s all the fuss about stem-cells and are there more and less ethical ways to achieve therapies?
•  Is abortion a new form of eugenics? Who should live and who should die on the basis on their genes or wantedness, who decides and in whose interests?
• Are organ transplants a good thing or do they kill the donors? How should we think of the relationship between donor, recipient, families and community?
• Do unresponsive patients still matter and should we keep feeding them, even artificially?
• Why are Christians so hung up about killing patients, even those who are already at a very low ebb or who want to die?
• What is the role of a Catholic healthcare institution in today’s world and how can it protect its Catholic identity and ethical integrity in the face of all the pressures?
• How about the healthcare professional? What is their vocation and when may they cooperate in the morally dubious choices of an institution or other professionals?
• What sorts of laws and policies should we make in this area and are pro-life politicians able to vote for ‘bad but better’ laws?

Year 12 - Comparison of Christian Denominations' Ethical Views

The following site has some good information on the differing views held by various Christian denominations on a number of ethical issues.The charts compares the similarities and differences between the views of major Christian denominations on social and ethical issues such as abortion, euthanasia, sexuality and war.

http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/charts/denominations_ethics.htm

Year 12 - Bioethics Resource Booklet

Bioethics Resource Booklet

View more documents from anthony_morgan.

Year 12 - Jewish Bioethics

Here are some links to sites that might have useful information.

http://www.biu.ac.il/HU/pj/$source-pj/bioethics/about.html

http://www.jlaw.com/LawPolicy/stemcellou.html

http://www.uscj.org/Embryonic_Stem_Cell_5809.html

http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/reprint/164/2/219.pdf
http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/164/2/219

http://www.myjewishlearning.com/beliefs/Issues/Bioethics.shtml

http://www.myjewishlearning.com/beliefs/Issues/Bioethics/Bioethics_101.shtml

http://www.responsafortoday.com/eng_index.html

http://www.jewishaz.com/jewishnews/040730/experts.shtml

Year 12 - Bioethics

Here's a link to a good site with lots of information on Christian ethics. Search for bioethics for articles and audio that discusses bioethics and Christianity.

http://www.wheaton.edu/CACE/

http://www.wheaton.edu/search/

There are some audio files relating to bioethics on the following page of the site.

http://www.wheaton.edu/CACE/audio/audio.htm

Year 12 - Ethics and Religion

Here is a short video in which Dr. C. Everett Koop shares his experience when sharing his faith as a surgeon in the hosptial setting and as Surgeon General in Washington.

Jewish Bioethics on ABC Radio National's Religion Report

Posted below is a link to the recent ABC Radio National Religion Report Podcast that looks at Jewish Bioethics. It also contains a report on the recent Lambeth Conference and the danger of a split in the Anglican Church.

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/religionreport/default.htm

Listen to this episode

If you just want to read a transcript of the show go to the following link.

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/religionreport/stories/2008/2333504.htm#transcript

Christian Bioethics Summary

Bioethical principles in Christianity are based on

1. Scripture (Old and New Testament)
2. The example of Jesus’ actions (as related in the New Testament)

All Christians accept these. Roman Catholics also believe that the Pope and the Church has teaching authority – but this is always in line with scriptural values and the example of Jesus’ life.

Scriptural Principles Regarding Issues Surrounding Human Life

1. Genesis 1:27-28 human beings are created by God and in His image so Christians believe they each have dignity and must be protected and respected.
2. Thou Shalt Not Kill – Exodus 20:13
3. The Beatitudes in Luke and Matthew – “blessed are those who suffer persecution for the sake of justice” – Christians must stand up for the rights and dignity of others

Catholic teachings about bioethics include:

1. The 1994 Catechism
2. Various Papal Encyclicals – especially Humanae Vitae (On Human Life) which attests the dignity of human life at all states.

Disputes arise amongst Christians, even within denominations, over when human life begins. In the Anglican Church the Primate Peter Carnley (Bishop of Perth) says human life does not begin until “implantation” (14 days after fertilization does human genetic material becomes a person). The Anglican Bishop of Sydney Peter Jensen says that human beings exist from the moment of fertilization. Catholics agree with Jensen, as this is the argument outlined in Humane Vitae.

Understanding when human life begins is crucial to beliefs / ethics about stem cell research on embryonic material because if you believe human life begins at “implantation” then spare IVF embryos can be used for stem cell extraction without causing offence

Embryonic Stem Cell Research

A maximum number of types of cells can develop from embryonic cells so that all human cells can be produced for therapeutic purposes. But the removal of embryonic cells results in the destruction of the embryo that some Christians see as human beings or potential human beings. Some people see a difference between using “spare” IVF embryos and creating embryos for “harvesting” stem cells.

Christians, as a general principle, find embryonic research unacceptable ethically because of the inevitable destruction of the embryo and they believe it cannot be justified even on the grounds that the embryos are unwanted or that the destruction of the embryo will result in benefit to sick people.

Adult Stem Cell Research

This involves the “harvesting” of stem cells from humans any time after birth, or from the umbilical cord of newborns. The major disadvantage of this is that not all human cells will develop from this procedure. Roman Catholics say that this will improve with further research. Using adult stem cells is acceptable for a broad spectrum of Christians because it does not result in damage to, or death of, the donor. Dignity is preserved because the donor can give consent to the procedure.

Cloning

This is the creation of an exact genetic copy of a cell or cells. In religious bioethical terms it relates to human cloning. The advantages are that stem cells can be created for therapeutic application to sick and disabled people and that it does not involve emotional issues like “is an embryo a real human”.

The Christian ethical viewpoint is that cloning is unacceptable because it assaults the dignity of a human being because the clone is not a unique individual, not in the image of God and because the clone is created for the benefit of someone else.

Therapeutic cloning is the production of cloned cells, or whole bodies, for use to improve the health of already sick or disabled people.

Reproductive cloning is the production of exact genetic copies of highly gifted / extraordinary people so that their gifts or talents can be spread further.

Cloning is ethically unacceptable to all Christian denominations because it denies the cloned human the dignity of being unique and not being conceived by a natural process. It is seen as offending the dignity of the clone also, because it is created for the benefit of other people.