Biomedical Ethics

The field of biomedical ethics explores ethical issues pertaining to both the practice of medicine and the pursuit of biomedical research. In this course we will explore topics central to biomedical ethics at an advanced level. We will consider topics fundamental to the study of life and death, such as reproductive technologies, physician-assisted suicide, and euthanasia, as well as the micro- and macro- issues specific to medicine and biomedical research, such as consent, confidentiality, and paternalism, experimentation with human subjects, and resource allocation. (Previous philosophy course or waiver) 3 hrs. sem.