Bioethics Test
What is Bioethics? - answer The study of how human people and communities are
affected by medicine, medical technologies, and the decisions we make in health care.
what authority does the catholic church have to speak about bioethics - answer until the
1960s only two groups were actively engaged in bioethical issues: 1. The Catholic
Church and 2. The Jewish Community.
Catholic Bioethics is based on the Natural Law while Jewish Bioethics was traditionally
only applicable to Jewish people.
Hippocrates - answer460-377 BCe, developed the skill/art of medicine rather than
relying on magic/luck
Hippocratic Oath - answer first do no harm
Pastoral Medicine - answer between the 7th and 12th centuries monks and priests were
the primary medical practitioners, this trend occurred again in rural areas during the
18th and 19th centuries
Code of Ethics - answerInterest in establishing ethical codes for the practice of medicine
in the 1960s
-advancing technology and science( outpaces ethics and morality)
The Nuremberg Tribunal - answer( Trial of Nazi physicians after WWII, brought to light
the need to protect research participants)
The Tuskegee Syphillis Study - answer( 1930-1972)
— studied the effects of Syphillis among poor, uneducated African Americans from
Tuskegee, Alabama. , researchers and the government withheld beneficial treatment,
even penicillin.
Catholic Social Teaching - answerJohn 19:23-24
The Seamless Garment: Life should be regarded like the seamless tunic of Jesus, not
torn, divided or ruined but kept whole
A consistent ethic of life - answerhuman life is a gift which spans from conception until
natural death, each person has dignity and worth throughout all of lifes stages.
Culture of life - answera culture that values all human life.
-emphasized " being"
, culture of death - answera culture that fosters values and practices harmful to life
-emphasizes "having"
defining life and death - answerIt is not easy to define when human life begins and
when life ends
-advancements in technology shift out definitions of these terms regularly.
definition of life - answerthe moment of conception: when sperm meets egg and a
unique human genetic code is formed
definition of death - answerwhen the brain ceases all function, including the brainstem.
Termination of all organic functioning.
deontological theories - answer-primary moral obligation is to fulfill ones duty
-moral action is judged by conformity with rules/guidelines
-action is more impurity than consequences
utilitarian theories - answer-the greatest good for the greatest number of people
-focus is on the consequences of actions
-no action can be considered good or evil apart from the outcomes of that action
-Danger:Slippery Slope- one exception can make other exceptions possible
principle of double effect - answerfour criteria for moral decision making which must be
met
1. the act in itself must not be morally wrong
2. the bad effect must not cause the good effect
3. the moral agent must not intend the bad effect
4. proportionality: bad effect must not outweigh the good effect
personhood - answerWhat makes someone a person?
Is this different than our definition of life?
Personhood requires a soul
we do not know when a soul becomes present in a human
three schools of personhood - answergenetics, developmental, social consensus
genetic - answerpersonhood begins when a human genetic code is present( at
conception)
-based on potential
(conservative because starts earliest)
developmental - answersome degree of development is required for personhood
-broad spectrum of ideas from conception to birth
—implantation( 1 week)
—heartbeat( 5 weeks, heard at 7 weeks)
—viability( 3rd trimester)
What is Bioethics? - answer The study of how human people and communities are
affected by medicine, medical technologies, and the decisions we make in health care.
what authority does the catholic church have to speak about bioethics - answer until the
1960s only two groups were actively engaged in bioethical issues: 1. The Catholic
Church and 2. The Jewish Community.
Catholic Bioethics is based on the Natural Law while Jewish Bioethics was traditionally
only applicable to Jewish people.
Hippocrates - answer460-377 BCe, developed the skill/art of medicine rather than
relying on magic/luck
Hippocratic Oath - answer first do no harm
Pastoral Medicine - answer between the 7th and 12th centuries monks and priests were
the primary medical practitioners, this trend occurred again in rural areas during the
18th and 19th centuries
Code of Ethics - answerInterest in establishing ethical codes for the practice of medicine
in the 1960s
-advancing technology and science( outpaces ethics and morality)
The Nuremberg Tribunal - answer( Trial of Nazi physicians after WWII, brought to light
the need to protect research participants)
The Tuskegee Syphillis Study - answer( 1930-1972)
— studied the effects of Syphillis among poor, uneducated African Americans from
Tuskegee, Alabama. , researchers and the government withheld beneficial treatment,
even penicillin.
Catholic Social Teaching - answerJohn 19:23-24
The Seamless Garment: Life should be regarded like the seamless tunic of Jesus, not
torn, divided or ruined but kept whole
A consistent ethic of life - answerhuman life is a gift which spans from conception until
natural death, each person has dignity and worth throughout all of lifes stages.
Culture of life - answera culture that values all human life.
-emphasized " being"
, culture of death - answera culture that fosters values and practices harmful to life
-emphasizes "having"
defining life and death - answerIt is not easy to define when human life begins and
when life ends
-advancements in technology shift out definitions of these terms regularly.
definition of life - answerthe moment of conception: when sperm meets egg and a
unique human genetic code is formed
definition of death - answerwhen the brain ceases all function, including the brainstem.
Termination of all organic functioning.
deontological theories - answer-primary moral obligation is to fulfill ones duty
-moral action is judged by conformity with rules/guidelines
-action is more impurity than consequences
utilitarian theories - answer-the greatest good for the greatest number of people
-focus is on the consequences of actions
-no action can be considered good or evil apart from the outcomes of that action
-Danger:Slippery Slope- one exception can make other exceptions possible
principle of double effect - answerfour criteria for moral decision making which must be
met
1. the act in itself must not be morally wrong
2. the bad effect must not cause the good effect
3. the moral agent must not intend the bad effect
4. proportionality: bad effect must not outweigh the good effect
personhood - answerWhat makes someone a person?
Is this different than our definition of life?
Personhood requires a soul
we do not know when a soul becomes present in a human
three schools of personhood - answergenetics, developmental, social consensus
genetic - answerpersonhood begins when a human genetic code is present( at
conception)
-based on potential
(conservative because starts earliest)
developmental - answersome degree of development is required for personhood
-broad spectrum of ideas from conception to birth
—implantation( 1 week)
—heartbeat( 5 weeks, heard at 7 weeks)
—viability( 3rd trimester)
