In the United Kingdom there have been few committees or commissions dealing specifically with biomedical ethics, and where such bodies have been set up they have merely reported on a specific topic and then disbanded. However, there may well be standing committees in the future, of which the Voluntary Licensing Authority for Human In Vitro Fertilisation and Embryology is a precursor. This paper surveys the work of three special committees or working groups which have reported in the period 1970 to the present. Of these the Warnock Committee is by far the most important, and the issues which it raises are discussed with specific reference to the place of philosophers and theologians on such bodies. It is concluded that, although there has been some movement in the UK toward the utilization of those with special skills and knowledge in the field of bioethics, much more could be done in this regard.

Advisory Committees↗

PubMed1987

Teaching medical ethics symposium. Reflections from New Zealand.

The Medical Faculty of the University of Otago, New Zealand is experimenting with a new approach to the teaching of medical ethics, making it an integral part of several courses in all years of the medical curriculum. During the author's twelve-month period as a visiting professor in the faculty, trial runs in ethics have been introduced in the preclinical sciences, in behavioural science and medical-decision analysis and in every clinical attachment. Proposals for permanent course requirements will be considered by the faculty after a full evaluation of these experiments by both students and teaching staff. If such courses are to be implemented and maintained, medical facilities will need to appoint specialists in ethics, at least on a part-time basis.

Curriculum↗

PubMed1985

Viability and the moral status of the fetus.

The viability of the fetus has played a significant part in the framing of abortion legislation, but the use of viability as a criterion represents a compromise which is conceptually unclear and which fails to satisfy either side in the abortion debate. Both conservative and liberal views on abortion regard fetal development as morally irrelevant. For the moderate (or gradualist) view some point in the development must be found which indicates a change in the moral status of the fetus. Since viability changes according to available techniques for neonatal care it cannot be the criterion. Alternative criteria are surveyed and it is concluded that the onset of sensation is a significant transition point beyond which abortion and infanticide cannot be morally distinguished. It is suggested that either legislation should be amended to prohibit abortion after 18 to 20 weeks, or abortion to full term should be permitted and the possibility of legislation for infanticide be envisaged.

Abortion, Induced↗

PubMed1977