Free Bioethics Essay Sample
DEFINITION AND HISTORY
Bioethics is the study of controversial and debatable moral philosophies brought about by advances in biology and medicine. As the fields of medicine and biology continue growing, questions arise in relation to other fields of life such as politics, law and society in general.
Fritz Jahr coined the word 'Bioethics,' which translated to Greek, forms two words; bios meaning life and ethos meaning behavior. He anticipated the argument now in the field of biology and medicine about testing the products on animals and plants. In 1970, American Biochemist named Van Renssalaer Potter used the term but in a more extensive view, generating 'global ethics,' which is a connection between biology, ecology, medicine and human values so as to achieve the survival of the human race and that of other animal and plant species.
The purpose and scope of bioethics are to tackle a broad range of human inquiry, from debates over the boundaries of life (abortion and euthanasia), surrogacy to limited health care resources (organ donation) and further to refusing certain medical procedures due to religious or cultural grounds. Bioethicists have disagreed among themselves the limit of their practice. They usually deliberate on whether the field should concern itself with ethical assessment of all queries involving biology and medicine or only a subset of these (Bioethics).
The essay shall discuss how contemporary bioethics affects life in aspects such as social and religious. It will also show how someone can live a meaningful life and forge a just society for the common good of all.
IMPLICATIONS OF CONTEMPORARY BIOETHICS
Even with advancement in science, certain medical procedures are not yet acceptable. For example, certain people in the past have opted preservation through cryonics. Cryonics is the low-temperature preservation of humans and animals who cannot sustain their own lives. This has brought about a lot of controversy because death is something that everyone has to accept. Going against this law of nature brings an air of blasphemy, a seed of fear planted and termed wrong (Miller).
In recent times, people have intensely debated about abortion. It is now a personal decision whether to terminate the life of the unborn, just because he or she is disabled or unwanted. Advancement in the medical field has fueled this practice. Now aspiring parents can spot the disabilities in the soon-to-be-born child and decide either to give birth or not. To have a society that values life, whether an unborn baby or an old person, certain medical procedures should be abolished so that people can view life as it is meant to be.
A religious perspective on bioethics is pluralistic. A cross-section of religious leaders says that cloning of a human to create a child is wrong and cannot be justified while others say it is morally justifiable (Chapter Three- RELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVES). This will cause a rift in people can bring disunity. To solve this, it is better living without doubt or a guilty conscience. Live life as it is supposed to be and all will be fine.