bioethics
Biotechnology and biomedical advances present a special challenge to our society because the evils we seek to avoid are so intimately connected with the goods this technology promises to deliver. Biotechnology raises a whole suite of ethical quandaries including issues of equitable access to therapies and concerns over privacy. The stalling of agricultural biotechnology has taught us that society expects greater benefits than increased corporate profits. More profoundly, our increasing ability to manipulate our own genome raises serious ethical dilemmas that go right to the heart of what it means to be human. As we acquire more power to alter the genetic basis of life, we must also acquire the moral wisdom to recognize and respect the boundaries of legitimate human action and the sacred provinces of God and nature.
H/P Case Studies:
The President's Council on Bioethics
Links:
Beyond Therapy: Biotechnology and the Pursuit of Happiness. (The President's Council on Bioethics Washington, D.C., October 2003.)