Argumentative Essay on Bioethics: History and Roots is published for informational purposes only. The free papers are not written by our writers, they are contributed by users, so we are not responsible for the content of this free sample paper. If you want to buy a quality Essay on Argumentative Essay on Bioethics: History and Roots at affordable prices please use our essay writing services offered by EssayEmpire.

Bioethics refers to an interdisciplinary approach used to address quandaries and moral dilemmas that arise from applied biology and medical science. It involves applying societal mores, philosophical principles, religious values, and human judgment to making decisions about human life and death, health and medical treatment, environmental issues, and the relationship of humans to other organisms on our planet. Principles of bioethics arose from secular and religious ethical principles. As medical science and biological technology developed and enabled humans to change their natural environment in dramatic ways, consideration of bioethics principles became more critical to guide applications of the technologies and human behavior.

Religious traditions served as the earliest sources to guide individuals and communities in decisions vis-a-vis medical practice, treatment of animals, and the environment. For instance, Judeo-Christian sources such as the Bible address bioethics issues, including injunctions to heal the sick and prohibitions regarding wanton destruction of property. The humane treatment of animals is also emphasized, as are mechanisms to provide reparations for personal harm. Healers and medical practitioners find guidelines in other ancient codes of law and thought as well, including those of Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism.

The Hippocratic tradition, developed in ancient Greece approximately 2,500 years ago, includes guidelines for doctors in their relationships with their patients. The sections of the oath most influential for modern medicine include the prohibition against giving patients deadly drugs, directives against euthanasia and abortion, and most important, the core principle of the oath, the pledge to improve the health of the patient.

Modern codes of medical ethics include Percival's Code, developed by Thomas Percival of Great Britain in 1803, which also emphasized the physician's duty to the patient. With the founding of the American Medical Association in the mid-19th century, that group developed a code of ethics that focused on doctors benefiting their patients, in addition to the physician's role in benefiting society. After World War II, at the Nuremberg trials, the world learned of the unspeakable violations of human rights carried out by Nazi doctors in the name of science. Nazi medical practitioners performed grievous experiments on Jews, Gypsies, and homosexuals--innocent victims and unwilling subjects--imprisoned in concentration and death camps. The Nuremberg Code of 1946 was developed in response to the testimonies at the Nazi doctors' trials. That code stipulated, for the first time, the principle of voluntary and informed consent. The medical community, represented by the World Medical Association, also reacted to Nazi violations of human rights by developing a code in response to Nazi atrocities. Their document, the Declaration of Geneva of 1948, states that the health of the patient is of paramount importance and should be the doctor's first consideration.

The advent of biotechnology and its myriad new applications in the 1970s and 1980s created a need for reconsideration of bioethics issues. In 1998, the Biotechnology Industry Organization developed a statement of principles to address some of the issues by reaffirming the basic principles of bioethics and declaring that biotechnology should be used in only beneficial ways. It emphasizes the importance of respect for animals, protection of the environment, and observance of the principle of informed consent for patients and the research subjects. The statement recommends that the power of biotechnology be applied to endeavors that lead to improvements in food production and the cleaning up of toxic wastes. The organization also emphasized its opposition to the use of the new technology to develop weapons. These noble concepts of the biotechnology industry clearly arose from general principles of bioethics and from previous codes guiding applied science and medicine.

Bioethics rests on a foundation of ethics thousands of years in the making. Codes of law and other guidelines for human behavior have traditionally involved two major approaches: principle-based ethics and casuistry.

Principle-based approaches to ethics are top-down ("here are the rules, follow them"), whereas casuistry is a bottom-up type of ethical approach, which involves the application of case studies ("here are the situations, figure out the rules for yourself"). Exclusive use of either approach limits flexibility and adaptability to new situations. Thus, many ethicists find combination approaches more acceptable. One such approach, reflective equilibrium, developed by John Rawls in 1971, combines theories, principles, rules, and judgments about specific cases. Many legal and ethical systems are based, at least in part, on casuistry. For instance, legal precedents play important roles in determining the decisions of U.S. courts. But legal and ethical systems also combine case-based reasoning with a clear set of rules. Bioethics likewise developed from both approaches--from a set of principles, and from analysis of cases.

Bibliography:

1) Annas, George J. and Michael A. Grodin. 1992. The Nazi Doctors and the Nuremberg Code: Human Rights in Human Experimentation. New York: Oxford University Press.

2) Beauchamp, Tom and James F. Childress. 2008. Principles of Biomedical Ethics. 6th ed. New York: Oxford University Press.

3) Beauchamp, Tom L., LeRoy Walters, Jeffrey P. Kahn and Anna C. Mastroianni. 2007. Contemporary Issues in Bioethics. 7th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

4) Levine, Carol, ed. 2006. Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Bioethical Issues. 11th ed. Dubuque, IA: McGraw-Hill/Dushkin.

5) Mappes, Thomas A. and David DeGrazia. 2006. Biomedical Ethics. 6th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.

6) Ridley, Aaron. 1998. Beginning Bioethics. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's.

7) Veach, Robert M. 2003. The Basics of Bioethics. 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

8) Wahrman, Miryam Z. 2004. Brave New Judaism: When Science and Scripture Collide. Hanover, NH: Brandeis University Press.

Free essays are not written to satisfy your specific instructions. You can order a term paper, research paper or custom TOPIC at our site which offers professional essay writing services. Get your high quality custom paper at relatively cheap prices. EssayEmpire is the best solution for those who seek help in essay writing related to TOPIC and other relevant topics.