Exploring Bioethics - NIH Office of Science Education - National ...

OverviewExploring Bioethics supports high school biologyteachers in raising and addressing bioethical issueswith their students and engages students in rigorousthinking and discussions. Byproviding conceptual guidelinesthat promote carefulthinking about difficult cases,it stresses the importance ofpresenting thoughtful and relevantreasons for consideredpositions on ethical issues.Module 1, Bioethics Conceptsand Skills, lays the groundworkfor subsequent modules byemphasizing the importance of giving reasons for ethicalchoices. Students examine two cases about the useof enhancements in sportsthat raise ethical questions.In the process, they acquirestrategies for analyzing anddiscussing bioethical casesmore generally. They develophabits of mind that includeasking the following four keyquestions to clarify the issuesinvolved in making an ethicaldecision:• What is the ethical question?• What are the relevant facts?• Who or what could be affected by the way thequestion gets resolved?• What are the relevant ethical considerations?The last key question focuses students on a set of coreethical considerations that highlight the importantethical aspects of any case. Exploring Bioethics draws onthree widely recognized ethical considerations:• Respect for persons: Not treating someone as amere means to a goal or end.• Minimizing harms while maximizing benefits:Acting to lessen negative outcomes and promotepositive outcomes.• Fairness: Ensuring that benefits, resources, andcosts are shared equitably.Although this supplementfocuses on these three ethicalconsiderations, others maybe relevant to a particularcase. For example, Module 1encourages students to alsothink about authenticity insports, and Module 6 addsthe ethical consideration ofstewardship (or responsibilitytoward other species).Modules 2 through 6highlight cases that representkey topics in bioethics.These modules givestudents the chance toapply their understandingof the four key questionsand ethical considerationsto a wide variety ofethical issues in the lifesciences. Teachers can useeach module as a stand-alone, three-day unit ofinstruction or as part of another unit.The intent of ExploringBioethics is not to changeopinions or perspectives,but rather to strengthenstudents’ ability to consider,explain, and offer areasoned defense of theirpoints of view. Within themodules, there is a specialemphasis on the importanceof providing relevantreasons for a position. A strong reason, whatbioethicists often call astrong justification, is onethat addresses the fourkey questions and takesthe core ethical considerationsinto account. Thissets ethical analysis apartfrom “gut reactions.” TheIntroduction1