Core 102: Bioethics

Section 41 (Spring 2004)

Tues/Thurs, 9:30-10:45

Education 202

Professor Steven Austad

Department of Biological Sciences

Office: Life Science South 263

Tel: 885-6598

E-mail: austad@uidaho.edu

Office Hours: Tues/Thurs, 2:00-3:30 & By Appointment

Section 42 (Spring 2004)

Tues/Thurs, 12:30-1:45

Mines 306

Professor Douglas Lind

Department of Philosophy

Office: Morrill Hall 407A

Tel: 885-5804

E-mail: dlind@uidaho.edu

Office Hours: Wed, 9:30-11:30 & By Appointment

This course will examine historical and current topics at the interface of biological science, ethics, and law. Students will be introduced to sufficient basic elements of biological science to understand all topics covered, as well as jurisprudence, and ethical theory and reasoning. During the two semesters of the course a variety of issues in biomedical, health care, and environmental ethics and policy will be discussed. Issues covered include stem cell research, cloning, genetically modified foods, human population growth and control, aging, informed consent, HIV/AIDS, health care and poverty, sustainable development, legal enforcement of morality, and research ethics and methods.

We hope Bioethics will be a particularly interesting course, but it will also be a considerable amount of work. If you have average reading skills, you should be spending at least 8 hours per week outside class working on the course, that time includes reading the material, thinking about it, and discussing issues with others in your discussion group. Keeping up with reading assignments is crucial, because the course covers an enormous amount of material and falling behind for any significant period will have a clear impact on your ability to understand and discuss the material in class as well as complete homework assignments.

Required Readings

Tom L. Beauchamp & LeRoy Walters, Contemporary Issues in Bioethics, 6th ed. (Wadsworth, 2003)

Mark Twain, Pudd’nhead Wilson (1894; Dover Publications, 1999)

Daniel DeFoe, A Journal of the Plague Year (1722; Dover Publications, 2001)

H.G. Wells, The Island of Dr. Moreau (1896; Dover Publications, 1996)

John Rawls, Two Concepts of Rules (1955) http://www.ditext.com/rawls/rules.html

President’s Council on Bioethics, Beyond Therapy (2003)

http://bioethics.gov/reports/beyondtherapy/beyond_therapy_final_report_pcbe.pdf

Suggested Readings

David Hume, An Inquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals (1751; Hackett Pub. Co., 1983)

Section I (Of the General Principles of Morals)

Section II (Of Benevolence)

Section V, Part I (Why Utility Pleases)

Appendix I (Concerning Moral Sentiment)

Immanuel Kant, Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals, Beck trans. (1785; Macmillan, 1990)

Preface (Search for absolute, necessary a priori laws)

First Section (Acting from Duty, Maxim, Categorical Imperative (Formulation #1))

Second Section (Hypothetical Imperatives, Categorical Imperative (#2)) (22-49)

John Stuart Mill, Utilitarianism (1861; Hackett Pub. Co., 1979)

Chapter I (General Remarks)

Chapter II (What Utilitarianism Is)

Schedule of Topics and Readings

Week 1 (Jan 15): Introduction

No Assigned Readings.

Week 2 (Jan 20,22): Review of Ethics Concepts

Beauchamp & Walters, Contemporary Issues in Bioethics:

“Ethical Theory and Bioethics – Fundamental Problems” (1-19)

Week 3 (Jan 27,29): Informed Consent

Beauchamp & Walters, Contemporary Issues in Bioethics:

Canterbury v. Spence (139-141)

Robert J. Levine, “Informed Consent: Some Challenges to the Universal Validity of the Western Model” (150-155)

Gregory E. Pence, “The Tuskegee Study” (394-401)

William J. Clinton, “In Apology for the Study Done in Tuskegee” (402-403)

Week 4 (Feb 3,5):

Mark Twain, Pudd’nhead Wilson

Week 5 (Feb 10,12): Confidentiality and the Right to Know

Beauchamp & Walters, Contemporary Issues in Bioethics:

“Autonomy Rights and Medical Information” – Chapter Introduction (109-113)

Mark Siegler, “Confidentiality in Medicine – A Decrepit Concept” (116-118)

Morton E. Winston, “AIDS, Confidentiality, and the Right to Know” (124-128)

Week 6 (Feb 17,19): Infectious Disease as Public Health Problem

John Rawls, “Two Concepts of Rules ”

Daniel DeFoe, A Journal of the Plague Year

Week 7 (Feb 24,26): HIV/AIDS Biology & Ethical Issues

Beauchamp & Walters, Contemporary Issues in Bioethics:

LeRoy Walters, “General Issues in the AIDS Epidemic” (665-670)

Lawrence Gostin & David Webber, “HIV Infection and AIDS in the Public Health and Health Care Systems: The Role of Law and Litigation” (691-699)

Rebecca Bennett, Heather Draper, Lucy Frith, “Ignorance is Bliss? HIV and Moral Duties and Legal Duties to Forwarn” (716-723)

Week 8 (March 2,4): International AIDS

Beauchamp & Walters, Contemporary Issues in Bioethics:

Anthony Fauci, “The AIDS Epidemic: Considerations for the 21^st Century” (671-676)

Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS & WHO “AIDS Epidemic Update” (677-684)

Gavin Yamey and William Rankin, “AIDS and Global Justice” (700-701)

Donald Berwick, “We All Have AIDS” (702-703)

Dorothy Logie and Solomon Benatar, “Africa in the 21^st Century: Can Despair be Turned to Hope?” (704-708)

Week 9 (March 9,11): The Modern Science Underlying Current Ethical Debates

Beauchamp & Walters, Contemporary Issues in Bioethics:

LeRoy Walters, “Reproductive Technologies and Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research” (563-568)

John Robertson, “IVF, Infertility, and the Status of Embryos” (569-580)

Week 10 (March 16,18): NO CLASS – SPRING RECESS

No assigned reading.

Week 11 (March 23,25): Ethical Issues of Modern Science

Beauchamp & Walters, Contemporary Issues in Bioethics:

National Research Council, “Scientific and Medical Aspects of Human Reproductive Cloning” ((633-635)

Dan Brock, “Cloning Human Beings: an Assessment of the Ethical Issues Pro and Con” (593-602)

Week 12 (March 30,April 1): Ethical Issues of Modern Science

Beauchamp & Walters, Contemporary Issues in Bioethics:

National Bioethics Advisory Commission, “Ethical Issues in Human Stem Cell Research” (636-645)

Glenn McGee & Arthur Caplan, “The Ethics and Politics of Small Sacrifices in Stem Cell Research” (646-648)

Gilbert Meilaender, “The Point of a Ban: Or, How to Think about Stem Cell Research” (649-656)

Week 13 (April 6, 8): Bioterrorism

Beauchamp & Walters, Contemporary Issues in Bioethics:

Joseph Barbera, et al., “Large-scale Quarantine Following Biological Terrorism in the United States” (775-783)

George Annas, “Bioterrorism, Public Health, and Civil Liberties” (788-793)

Week 14 (April 13,15): Group Presentations

No assigned reading

Week 15 (April 20,22): Group Presentations

No assigned reading

Week 16 (April 27,29): Group Presentations

No assigned reading

Week 17 (May 4,6): Wrap-up & Distribution of Take-home Final

No assigned reading

Final (Take Home) Exam: Due Wed May 12, 4:00 pm

Course Requirements, Grading, Exams, and Attendance

Course Requirements

Two Short Essays

Final Take-Home Essay Exam

Participation & Other Written Work

Group Research Project (Research + Written Reports + Oral Reports)

Grading: Total 200 Points

Final semester grades for this course will be based on several criteria, including short essays, final take-home essay exam, other written work/classroom participation, and your group project. Throughout the semester, we will assign grades on a numerical basis. Only in determining the final semester grade will the numerical grades be translated to letter grades. The total possible points is 200, distributed as follows:

Two Short Essays @ 20 points 40 Points 20% of grade

Final Take-Home Essay Exam 50 Points 25% of grade

Participation & Other Written Work 30 Points 15% of grade

Group Research Project 80 Points 40% of grade

TOTAL 200 Points

In translating numerical grades to letter grades, we will begin by automatically considering the A/B/C/D cutoff points to be 90%, 80%, 70%, and 60% of the numerical total. That is, any student accumulating at least 90% of the 200-point total (i.e., 180 points) will receive an A grade. Similarly, 80% (160 points) is the guaranteed highest B cutoff, 70% (140 points) the guaranteed highest C cutoff, and 60% (120 points) the guaranteed highest D cutoff. Based on the final distribution of the numerical grades, we will either leave the letter grade cutoffs at those percentages, or curve them downward. In no event will the percentage cutoffs be raised.

Paper Assignments

All submitted assignments in the course must be typed or printed on a laser-quality printer.

The course requires the completion of two short (1-2 page) essays. The essays will be on the following assigned topics:

Pudd’nhead Wilson (due Feb 12)

HIV/AIDS and A Journal of the Plague Year (due March 4)

The short papers will be graded for writing quality, including grammar, sentence structure, punctuation, and spelling, as well as substantive quality. Each paper must be typed and may not exceed a designated page length. Each essay is worth 20 points, making these essays worth 40 points, 20% of your semester grade.

Exams

The course includes a take-home final essay exam, which will mostly consider H.G. Wells’ novella, The Island of Dr. Moreau. The exam will consist of a set of essay questions handed out during the final week of class. You will be asked to answer one or two questions. Your answer(s) should be prepared with the same care you would take in writing a term paper. We will grade the final exams on the basis of grammatical quality (sentence structure, punctuation, spelling), as well as substantive quality. We will also implement a strict page limit. You will have approximately one week to complete the exam. All final exam answers must be typed. The final exam is worth 50 points, 25% of your semester grade.

Participation & Other Written Work

While class attendance will not be taken per se, we will note participation or a lack thereof on a daily basis. Students must come prepared to discuss the course readings, and should expect to be called on to participate in the class discussions.

Part of the participation component is the completion of irregular “Other Written Work” assignments. These may include short essay assignments, unannounced quizzes, or the completion of a set of questions handed out in one class and due the next, or to be answered in-class by students in groups. Missed assignments of this nature may not be made up. This Participation/Other Written Work component of the course counts for 30 points, 15% of your course grade.

Group Research Project

The final grade-based requirement for the course is your group research project. For this project you will design, carry out, and write up some real world research on a topic of bioethical significance. For instance, you might interview patients or doctors at an AIDS clinic, conduct a survey on public attitudes toward reproductive cloning, observe the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease patients, or discuss rationing of medical care with doctors and health insurance administrators. The topic is only limited by your creativity. We will have a limited amount of funds available to pay for any travel or living expenses that your project might require.

The group research project component of the course counts for 80 points, 40% of your course grade. This project will consist of four parts: (1) project proposal (5 points); (2) planning report & oral presentation (15 points); (3) final project paper (30 points); (4) oral presentation of completed project (30 points).

Due Date Policy

Paper assignments and the final take-home essay exam must be handed in by the deadlines. Late papers and exams will be accepted only for good cause and, if accepted, will be down-graded as follows:

1 day late: Minus 3 points

Each additional day late: Minus an additional point

In calculating points to be subtracted for late papers or exams, all days count, including weekends and holidays.

Academic Honesty

It is the policy of both the Departments of Philosophy and Biological Sciences to refer all instances of suspected academic dishonesty to the Student Judicial Council. Any student in this course who submits for credit plagiarized material will receive an F for the semester.

Last update: 27-Jan-2004