Bioethicists come from a wide variety of backgrounds and have training in a diverse array of disciplines. The field contains individuals trained in philosophy such as
Deryck Beyleveld of
Durham University,
Daniel Brock of
Harvard University,
Baruch Brody of
Rice University,
Arthur Caplan of
NYU,
Joseph Fins of
Cornell University,
Frances Kamm of
Rutgers University,
Daniel Callahan of the
Hastings Center,
Peter Singer of
Princeton University, and
Julian Savulescu of
the University of Oxford; medically trained clinician ethicists such as
Mark Siegler of the
University of Chicago; lawyers such as
Nancy Dubler of
Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Jerry Menikoff of the federal
Office for Human Research Protections; political scientists like
Francis Fukuyama; religious studies scholars including
James Childress; and theologians like Lisa Sowle Cahill and Stanley Hauerwas. The field, formerly dominated by formally trained philosophers, has become increasingly
interdisciplinary, with some critics even claiming that the methods of analytic philosophy have harmed the field's development. Leading journals in the field include
The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy, the
Hastings Center Report, the
American Journal of Bioethics, the
Journal of Medical Ethics,
Bioethics, the
Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal, Public Health Ethics, and the
Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics. Bioethics has also benefited from the
process philosophy developed by
Alfred North Whitehead. Another discipline that discusses bioethics is the field of feminism; the
International Journal of Feminist Approaches to Bioethics has played an important role in organizing and legitimizing feminist work in bioethics. In the case of many non-Western cultures, a strict separation of religion from philosophy does not exist. In many Asian cultures, for example, there is a lively discussion on bioethical issues. Buddhist bioethics, in general, is characterized by a naturalistic outlook that leads to a rationalistic, pragmatic approach.
Buddhist bioethicists include
Damien Keown. In India,
Vandana Shiva is a leading bioethicist speaking from the
Hindu tradition. In Africa, and partly also in Latin America, the debate on bioethics frequently focuses on its practical relevance in the context of underdevelopment and geopolitical power relations. In Africa, their bioethical approach is influenced by and similar to Western bioethics due to the colonization of many African countries.
Masahiro Morioka argues that in Japan the bioethics movement was first launched by disability activists and feminists in the early 1970s, while academic bioethics began in the mid-1980s. During this period, unique philosophical discussions on brain death and disability appeared both in the academy and journalism. In Chinese culture and bioethics, there is not as much of an emphasis on autonomy as opposed to the heavy emphasis placed on autonomy in Western bioethics. Community, social values, and family are all heavily valued in Chinese culture, and contribute to the lack of emphasis on autonomy in Chinese bioethics. The Chinese believe that the family, community, and individual are all interdependent of each other, so it is common for the family unit to collectively make decisions regarding healthcare and medical decisions for a loved one, instead of an individual making an independent decision for his or her self. Some argue that
spirituality and understanding one another as spiritual beings and moral agents is an important aspect of bioethics, and that spirituality and bioethics are heavily intertwined with one another. As a healthcare provider, it is important to know and understand varying world views and religious beliefs. Having this knowledge and understanding can empower healthcare providers with the ability to better treat and serve their patients. Developing a connection and understanding of a patient's moral agent helps enhance the care provided to the patient. Without this connection or understanding, patients can be at risk of becoming "faceless units of work" and being looked at as a "set of medical conditions" as opposed to the storied and spiritual beings that they are.
Islamic bioethics Bioethics in the realm of Islam differs from Western bioethics, but they share some similar perspectives viewpoints as well. Western bioethics is focused on rights, especially individual rights. Islamic bioethics focuses more on religious duties and obligations, such as seeking treatment and preserving life. Islamic bioethics is heavily influenced and connected to the teachings of the
Qur'an as well as the teachings of
Muhammad. These influences essentially make it an extension of Shariah or Islamic Law. In Islamic bioethics, passages from the Qur'an are often used to validate various medical practices. For example, a passage from the Qur'an states "whosoever killeth a human being ... it shall be as if he had killed all humankind, and whosoever saveth the life of one, it shall be as if he saved the life of all humankind." This excerpt can be used to encourage using medicine and medical practices to save lives, but can also be looked at as a protest against euthanasia and assisted suicide. A high value and worth are placed on human life in Islam, and in turn, human life is deeply valued in the practice of Islamic bioethics as well. Muslims believe all human life, even one of poor quality, needs to be given appreciation and must be cared for and conserved. The Islamic education on sensible problems associated to existence in normal and human lifestyles in unique can be sought in Islamic bioethics. As we will see later, due to the fact of interconnectedness of the Islamic regulation and the Islamic ethics, the Islamic bioethics has to reflect on consideration on necessities of the Islamic regulation (Shari‘ah) in addition to ethical considerations. To react to new technological and medical advancements, informed Islamic jurists regularly will hold conferences to discuss new bioethical issues and come to an agreement on where they stand on the issue from an Islamic perspective. This allows Islamic bioethics to stay pliable and responsive to new advancements in medicine. The standpoints taken by Islamic jurists on bioethical issues are not always unanimous decisions and at times may differ. There is much diversity among Muslims varying from country to country, and the different degrees to which they adhere by Shariah. Differences and disagreements in regards to jurisprudence, theology, and ethics between the two main branches of Islam, Sunni, and Shia, lead to differences in the methods and ways in which Islamic bioethics is practiced throughout the Islamic world. An area where there is a lack of consensus is brain death. The Organization of Islamic Conferences Islamic Fiqh Academy (OIC-IFA) holds the view that brain death is equivalent to cardiopulmonary death, and acknowledges brain death in an individual as the individual being deceased. On the contrary, the Islamic Organization of Medical Sciences (IOMS) states that brain death is an "intermediate state between life and death" and does not acknowledge a brain dead individual as being deceased. Islamic bioethicists look to the Qur'an and religious leaders regarding their outlook on reproduction and abortion. It is firmly believed that the reproduction of a human child can only be proper and legitimate via marriage. This does not mean that a child can only be reproduced via sexual intercourse between a married couple, but that the only proper and legitimate way to have a child is when it is an act between husband and wife. It is okay for a married couple to have a child artificially and from techniques using modern biotechnology as opposed to sexual intercourse, but to do this out of the context of marriage would be deemed immoral. Islamic bioethics is strongly against abortion and strictly prohibits it. The IOMS states that "from the moment a zygote settles inside a woman's body, it deserves a unanimously recognized degree of respect." Abortion may only be permitted in unique situations where it is considered to be the "lesser evil".
Christian bioethics In Christian bioethics it is noted that the Bible, especially the
New Testament, teaches about healing by faith. Healing in the Bible is often associated with the ministry of specific individuals including
Elijah,
Jesus and
Paul. Being healed has been described as a privilege of accepting Christ's redemption on the cross.
Jesus endorsed the use of the medical assistance of the time (medicines of oil and wine). The principle of the sacredness of human life is at the basis of Catholic bioethics. On the subject of
abortion, for example,
Catholics and
Orthodox are on very similar positions. Catholic bioethics insists on this concept, In 1936, Ludwig Bieler argued that Jesus was stylized in the New Testament in the image of the "divine man" (Greek:
theios aner), which was widespread in antiquity. It is said that many of the famous rulers and elders of the time had divine healing powers. Contemporary bioethical and health care policy issues, including abortion, the distribution of limited resources, the nature of appropriate hospital chaplaincy, fetal experimentation, the use of fetal tissue in treatment, genetic engineering, the use of critical care units, distinctions between ordinary and extraordinary treatment, euthanasia, free and informed consent, competency determinations, the meaning of life, are being examined within the framework of traditional Christian moral commitments.
Feminist bioethics Feminist bioethics critiques the fields of bioethics and medicine for its lack of inclusion of women's and other marginalized group's perspectives. This lack of perspective from women is thought to create power imbalances that favor men. These power imbalances are theorized to be created from the androcentric nature of medicine. This has led to a gap in the research on how pharmaceuticals can affect women. Since created in 1992, the
International Journal of Feminist Approaches to Bioethics has done much work to legitimize feminist work and theory in bioethics.
Environmental bioethics Bioethics, the ethics of the life sciences in general, expanded from the encounter between experts in medicine and the laity, to include organizational and social ethics, environmental ethics. As of 2019 textbooks of green bioethics existed.Particular emphasis on responsibility toward ecosystems, including resource conservation, environmental protection, and considerations of intergenerational justice.
Animal bioethics Main Article: Animal ethics Animal bioethics is the study of animal-human dynamics, and how animals should be treated by humans. In a scientific framework, ethical issues of consideration include
animal testing and eponymous taxonomy (the ethics of naming species after people). Biologists
W. M. S. Russell and R. L. Burch developed
the “3 R’s”, a set of 3 guidelines outlining recommended procedures to promote animal respect and reduce the amount of animals used in scientific research. They include determining alternatives to animal use (replacement), minimizing the number of animals used (reduction), and mitigating animal suffering if they are used in research (refinement).
Eponymous taxonomy Taxonomy is the classification of animals in biological disciplines. Some species such as
Aleiodes gaga are named after real people, which can be controversial, as in the case of
Anophthalmus hitleri, a species of beetle hunted to endangerment by Nazi memorabilia collectors. Critics of eponymic naming conventions such as Guedes et. al argue that eponymous taxonomy is a form of scientific colonization because scientists from colonizing nations often had a stake in naming species native to countries in the Global South. Supporters of eponymous taxa argue that “famous” taxonomies are important for conservation efforts, as species of interest would be brought to public attention.
Gene therapy ethics Gene therapy involves ethics, because scientists are making changes to genes, the building blocks of the human body. Currently, therapeutic gene therapy is available to treat specific genetic disorders by editing cells in specific body parts. For example, gene therapy can treat hematopoietic disease. There is also a controversial gene therapy called "germline gene therapy", in which genes in a sperm or egg can be edited to prevent genetic disorder in the
future generation. It is unknown how this type of gene therapy affects long-term human development. In the United States, federal funding cannot be used to research germline gene therapy. Gene therapy is still in its early stages and carries risks or limitations such as availability due to costs and access to technology, targeting of the wrong cells, certain types of cancer, and adverse reactions to your immune system . == Professional practice ==