The patient's preferences are more important than the physician's. Informed consent respects autonomy. IRBs protect human subjects. Rational humans have full moral status. Eugenics is wrong. Physician-assisted suicide and abortion are controversial topics. Animal models have led to the successful development of important treatments. Cancer research is a worthwhile aim.
Bioethics is rife with conventional wisdom. This aim of this elective is to think creatively about the underlying assumptions of bioethics, then challenge them. Do rational humans really have full moral status? Do IRBs really protect human subjects?