| LEC # | TOPICS | READINGS | STUDY GUIDES |
|---|---|---|---|
| Topic 1: Ending Life | |||
| 1 | Introduction | ||
| 2 | Killing I | Rachels, James. "Active and Passive Euthanasia." New England Journal of Medicine 292 (January 9, 1975): 78-80. | |
| 3 | Killing II | Nesbitt, Winston. "Is Killing No Worse Than Letting Die?" Journal of Applied Philosophy (1995): 101-105. Kuhse, Helga. "Why Killing is Not Always Worse-and Sometimes Better-Than Letting Die." Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics 7 (1998): 371-374. | |
| 4 | From Euthanasia to Assisted Suicide | Emanuel, Ezekiel J. "The History of Euthanasia Debates in the United States and Britain." Annals of Internal Medicine 121 (1994): 793-802. "Euthanasia-Degenerated Sympathy." Boston Medical and Surgical Journal 154 (March 11, 1906): 330-331. (PDF) Quill, Timothy. "Death and Dignity: A Case of Individualized Decision Making." New England Journal of Medicine 324 (1991): 691-694. | (PDF) |
| 5 | Withdrawal of Life Support | Reiser, Stanley J. "The Intensive Care Unit: The Unfolding Ambiguities of Survival Therapy." International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care 8 (1992): 382-394. Clinical Care Committee, Massachusetts General Hospital. "Optimum Care for Hopelessly Ill Patients." New England Journal of Medicine 295 (August 12, 1976): 362-364. Annas, George J. "'Culture of Life' Politics at the Bedside-The Case of Terri Schiavo." New England Journal of Medicine 352, no. 16 (April 21, 2005): 1710-1715. | (PDF) |
| Topic 2: Nascent Life | |||
| 6 | History and Abortion | Reagan, Leslie J. "'About to Meet Her Maker': Women, Doctors, Dying Declarations, and the State's Investigation of Abortion, Chicago, 1867-1940." Journal of American History 77 (March 1991): 1240-1264. Cantor, Julie, and Ken Baum. "The Limits of Conscientious Objection-May Pharmacists Refuse to Fill Prescriptions for Emergency Contraception?" New England Journal of Medicine 351 (November 4, 2004): 2008-2012. | (PDF) |
| 7 | Early Humans I - Abortion | Tooley, Michael. "Abortion and Infanticide." Philosophy and Public Affairs 2, no. 1 (1972): 37-65. Marquis, Don. "Why Abortion is Immoral." Journal of Philosophy 86, no. 4 (1989): 183-202. | |
| 8 | Early Humans II - Stem Cells | Green, Ronald M. "Benefiting From 'Evil': An Incipient Moral Problem in Human Stem Cell Research." Bioethics 16, no. 6 (2002): 544-556. | |
| 9 | Neonatal Intensive Care | Baker, Jeffrey P. "The Incubator Controversy: Pediatricians and the Origins of Premature Infant Technology in the United States, 1890-1910." Pediatrics 87 (May 1991): 654-662. Stinson, Robert, and Peggy Stinson. "On the Death of a Baby." Atlantic Monthly (July 1979): 63-72. Angell, Marcia. "Handicapped Children: Baby Doe and Uncle Sam." New England Journal of Medicine 309 (September 15, 1983): 659-661. Vohr, Betty R., and Marilee Allen. "Extreme Prematurity-The Continuing Dilemma." New England Journal of Medicine 352 (January 6, 2005): 71-72. | (PDF) |
| Topic 3: Creating and Optimizing Life | |||
| 10 | The Obligations of Pregnancy | "Calming Pregnancy Fears," "ACOG Pregnancy Exercise Guidelines," "9 Tips for a Fit Pregnancy," "Smoking for Two: A Dangerous Pursuit," "Wanting a Baby? Get Your Weight Under Control Now," "Eating for Two," "Is Seafood Safe During Pregnancy?" "Since When Am I Public Property?" All available at Pregnancy Today. | (PDF) |
| 11 | Optimizing Offspring | Guterman, Lilla, and Francis X. Rocca. "Choosing Eugenics: How Far Will Nations Go to Eliminate a Genetic Disease?" Chronicle of Higher Education 49 (May 2, 2003). Rifkin, Jeremy. "Ultimate Therapy: Commercial Eugenics in the 21st Century." Harvard International Review 27 (Spring 2005): 44-48. | (PDF) |
| 12 | The Non-Identity Problem I |  Parfit, Derek. "The Non-Identity Problem." Chapter 16 in Reasons and Persons. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1986. ISBN: 9780198249085. | |
| 13 | The Non-Identity Problem II | ———. "The Repugnant Conclusion." Chapter 17 in Reasons and Persons. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1986. ISBN: 9780198249085. | |
| 14 | Eugenics |
Lombardo, Paul, and Gregory Dorr. "Eugenics, Medical Education, and the Public Health Service: Another Perspective on the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment." Bulletin of the History of Medicine 80 (Spring 2006): 291-316. | (PDF) |
| 15 | Slippery Slopes |
| |
| 16 | Genetic Engineering | Rogers, Michael. "The Pandora's Box Congress." Rolling Stone 189 (June 19, 1975): 37-40, 42, 74, 77-78, and 82.
| (PDF) |
| 17 | The Unnatural | Mill, J. S. "Nature." From Three Essays on Religion. (1874) (PDF) | |
| Topic 4: Who Gets Treated? | |||
| 18 | Valuing Lives I | Mill, J. S. "Utilitarianism." (1863, with revisions through 1879) (PDF) | |
| 19 | Valuing Lives II | Mill, J. S. "Utilitarianism." (contd.) | |
| 20 | Valuing Lives III | Harris, John. "The Value of Life." In The Value of Life: An Introduction to Medical Ethics. New York, NY: Routledge, 1990, pp. 87-102. ISBN: 9780415040327. | |
| 21 | Organ Transplants | Annas, George J. "The Prostitute, the Playboy, and the Poet: Rationing Schemes for Organ Transplantation." American Journal of Public Health 72 (1985): 187-189. Scheper-Hughes, Nancy. "The Global Traffic in Human Organs." Current Anthropology 41 (April 2000): 191-211. Steinbrock, Robert. "Public Solicitation of Organ Donors." New England Journal of Medicine 353 (August 4, 2005): 441-444. | (PDF) |
| 22 | Disease and Responsibility | Knowles, John H. "The Responsibility of the Individual." Daedalus 106 (1977): 57-80. Szasz, Thomas. "Bad Habits Are Not Diseases: A Refutation of the Claim that Alcoholism is a Disease." The Lancet (July 8, 1972): 83-84. Nelkin, Dorothy, and M. Susan Lindee. "Elvis' DNA: The Gene as Cultural Icon." The Humanist 55 (May/June 1995): 10-19. | (PDF) |
| 23 | Public Health and Individual Rights | Parmet, Wendy E., Richard A. Goodman, and Amy Farber. "Individual Rights versus the Public's Health -- 100 Years after Jacobson v. Massachusetts." New England Journal of Medicine 352 (February 17, 2005): 652-654. Colgrove, James, and Ronald Bayer. "Manifold Restraints: Liberty, Public Health, and the Legacy of Jabobson v Massachusetts." American Journal of Public Health 95 (April 2005): 571-576. Annas, George J. "Bioterrorism, Public Health, and Civil Liberties." New England Journal of Medicine 346 (April 25, 2002): 1337-1342. Fritz, Mark. "A Doctor's Fight: More Forced Care for the Mentally Ill." Wall Street Journal (February 1, 2006). Santora, Marc. "City Orders Labs to Submit Data From Tests of Diabetics." New York Times (December 15, 2005). | (PDF) |
| 24 | Rationing and Health Care Policy | Mariner, Wendy. "Rationing Health Care and the Need for Credible Scarcity: Why Americans Can't Say No." American Journal of Public Health 85 (October 1995): 1435-1445. Ubel, Peter A. "Dose Response: Intelligent rationing by physicians is the first step to a health-care system that society can afford." The Sciences (November/December 1999): 18-23. | (PDF) |
| 25 | Conclusions | ||
| 26 | Conclusions (cont.) | ||
Table of Contents
Study Materials
Readings
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This page includes a table of assigned readings with associated study guides, plus several background readings.
Assigned Readings
Hippocratic Oath. (Translated by Heinrich von Staden.)
AMA Code of Ethics, 1847. (PDF)