| CODE | MRT5166 | |||||||||
| TITLE | Contemporary Issues in Ethics | |||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | |||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | Not Applicable | |||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | |||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Moral Theology | |||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | What are the specific characteristics of the European approach to ethical problems in health care? Is it possible to identify a European approach in the area of bioethics? Though subsidiarity is an important value for the European Union, is harmonization of bioethical issues possible on a European level? This study-unit attempts to address these questions. The Council of Europe and the European Union are the two institutions where bioethical issues are being discussed from different perspectives. Whereas the first European institution is concerned with human rights issues in the context of today’s biotechnological developments, patients in their suffering, the second one is attempting to establish adequate common European public policies to guide the novel and challenging bioethical issues raised by today’s sciences and the new technologies. The task of the European Group of Ethics (EGE) is to advise the Commission on these issues. Bioethical issues, such as nanomedicine, human cloning and stem cell research, the use of cloned animals for food supply, ethical issues involving the patenting of human stem cells and living organisms, genetic testing, human tissue banking, animal, food and agricultural biotechnology, end-of-life issues and the European Conventions and Protocols on bioethics are some of the thorny bioethical issues that will be discussed in this study-unit. End-of-life issues will be discussed in some more detail. The obligation of healthcare professionals to relieve pain and suffering stretches back into antiquity. In spite of the increasing power of modern medicine, pain and suffering are still an integral dimension of the human condition. This fact raises the question about the relationship between suffering and the goals of medicine. This study-unit highlights the ethical debate on the use of today’s methods of relief and control of suffering and pain by palliative care, particularly palliative sedation. It focuses on patient’s wish to take more control over their own lives and deaths, on resources which have become scarce, and technologies which have created controversial life-prolonging treatments. End-of-life decisions in the case of terminal patients and the issue of euthanasia, particularly the ethical problem of withholding and withdrawal treatment, cannot be discussed adequately without taking into account the setting up of palliative support teams. Moreover, the unit raises the philosophical and religious issues of the experience of suffering. Why does God permit suffering? How could the image of God as love, omnipotent and omniscient be reconciled with the experience of suffering? This study-unit addresses these issues which trouble every human being who is faced with the problem of suffering and pain. Spirituality is an essential part of human experience and is nowadays recognised as a factor that contributes to health. In fact, spirituality constitutes an essential element of how individuals experience their suffering and illness, contributing to one’s seeking of meaning and purpose in life. Spiritual beliefs and issues may also impact patients’ illness and health care decision-making, as well as influence diagnosis, treatment, and coping. This study-unit will thus focus on the impact of illness on individuals and the spiritual distress they suffer during a health crisis situation. It will examine the mystery of suffering, focusing not only on how individuals might find meaning and purpose in illness but also on how health care professionals might assess the spiritual needs of patients in their suffering. Study-Unit Aims: - To familiarise students with the ethical values emerging in the field of bioethics in Europe; - To enable students to become acquainted with the documents of the European Group of Ethics (EGE) and the Steering Committee on Bioethics (CDBI) of the Council of Europe; - To empower students to evaluate the divergent opinions on bioethics emerging in Europe; - To provide an insight on the relationship between suffering and the goals of medicine; - To familiarise students with the ethical debate on the use of methods of relief and control of suffering and pain by palliative care. - To engage actively students in an open discussion on the End-of-life issues, including euthanasia and the withholding and withdrawal of treatment; - To provide to students relevant philosophical and religious issues related to suffering; - To illustrate that spirituality is recognised as a factor that contributes to health. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Become acquainted with the different European institutions and their respective competence in ethics; - Discern the complexity of European directives and regulations on bioethical issues; - Learn to distinguish the divergences of ethical perspectives in European Members States and EU institutions; - Discuss the ethical issues which arise in palliative care; - Analyze the philosophical and religious debate on the human experience of suffering; - Recognise that spiritual beliefs and issues may impact patients’ illness and health care decision-making. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Evaluate, distinguish and discern the divergent opinions in bioethics emerging in Europe; - Compare and contrast the divergencies of ethical and political approaches between European and American institutions; - Argue about the ethical issues raised by palliative care and life-sustaining treatment; - Apply theories and research to the assessment of spiritual needs; - Assess individual’s spiritual coping methods. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - TEN HAVE Henk & GORDIJN Bert (eds), Bioethics in a European Perspective, Kluwer Academic Pub, Dordrecht, 2001. - GASTMANS Christ et al. (eds), New Pathways for European Bioethics, Intersentia, 2007. Supplementary Readings: - OPINIONS OF THE EUROPEAN GROUP OF ETHICS (EGE) (http://ec.europa.eu/european_group_ethics/index_en.h). - RENDTORT Jacob & KEMP Peter, Basic Ethical Principles in European Bioethics and Biolaw: Autonomy, Dignity, Integrity and Vulnerability, vol. I & II, Centre for Ethics and Law, Copenhagen, 2000. - REPORTS OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE, http://www.coe.int/T/E/Legal_affairs/Legal_co-operation/Bioethics/ - SHERLOCK R. & MORREY J.D., Ethical Issues in Biotechnology, Rowmann & Littlefield, London, 2002. - SOLTER D. et. al., Embryo Research in Pluralist Europe, Springer, Berlin, 2003. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | |||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Emmanuel Agius |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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