bioethicist definition of bioethicist in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

bioethics, in philosophy, a branch of ethics ethics, in philosophy, the study and evaluation of human conduct in the light of moral principles. Moral principles may be viewed either as the standard of conduct that individuals have constructed for themselves or as the body of obligations and duties that a
..... Click the link for more information. concerned with issues surrounding health care and the biological sciences. These issues include the morality of abortion abortion, expulsion of the products of conception before the embryo or fetus is viable. Any interruption of human pregnancy prior to the 28th week is known as abortion.
..... Click the link for more information. , euthanasia euthanasia (y
..... Click the link for more information. , in vitro fertilization in vitro fertilization (vē`trō, vĭ`trō), technique for conception of a human embryo outside the mother's body.
..... Click the link for more information. , and organ transplants (see transplantation, medical transplantation, medical, surgical procedure by which a tissue or organ is removed and replaced by a corresponding part, either from another part of the body or from another individual.
..... Click the link for more information. ). In the 1970s bioethics emerged as a discipline with its own experts, often professional philosophers, who developed university courses on the subject. Many hospitals now employ experts on bioethics to advise on such issues as how to treat terminally ill patients and to allocate limited resources. Advances in health care, the development of genetic screening genetic screening, testing for genetic disorders. Most commonly, prospective parents or an embryo or fetus is tested when a specific genetic disorder is suspected (e.g., Tay-Sachs or sickle cell disease ).
..... Click the link for more information. , and the new research in genetic engineering genetic engineering, the use of various methods to manipulate the DNA (genetic material) of cells to change hereditary traits or produce biological products.
..... Click the link for more information. , including gene therapy gene therapy, the use of genes and the techniques of genetic engineering in the treatment of a genetic disorder or chronic disease. There are many techniques of gene therapy, all of them still in experimental stages.
..... Click the link for more information. , have also given rise to questions in bioethics.

Bibliography

See W. T. Reich, ed., Encyclopedia of Bioethics (4 vol., 1978); H. T. Engelhardt, The Foundations of Bioethics (1986); R. Macklin, Mortal Choices: Bioethics in Today's World (1987).

bioethics [‚bī·ō′eth·iks]

(biology)

A discipline concerned with the application of ethics to biological problems, especially in the field of medicine.

bioethics (redirected from bioethicist)

Bibliography

bioethics
(redirected from bioethicist)