I gave one of the keynotes here titled Bioart as Bioethics. Here are some shots and notes from the event.
Can we owe ourselves a duty to die? Sinead O’Brien, Manchester University whether right to life do we have a right to die as and when we see fit?
Deal with adult human beings Capable of valuing own life Intrinsic value
Owing duty to ourselves
Kant – duties – in every moral duty, no matter to whom it is owed, individual chooses being bound – so, free to relinquish oneself
We can only owe this duty to ourselves
Only individual can decide whether life is so burdensome as to constitute a harm
Only we can know if our lives have sunk below an acceptable level
Beyond Mill’s Harm Principle: the Case of Abortion Gareth Williams University of Leicester
Mill’s harm principle Ambiguity of term ‘harm’
The Profession of Medicine in a Target Driven Culture Michael Trimble
What are the implications of a target driven healthcare syst for prof of medicine and ethical basis of medical practice?
What makes a good doctor? Mark Campbell
Bioethics has narrow focus on action guidance Need something broader to take into account moral agency Only then can moral philosophy answer q of what makes a good doctor
Mark.campbell@kcl.ac.uk
Embodying Bioethics Maragret Shildrick
10-11 September, anomalous bodies: visibility and ageing
‘Naked on the Inside’: (discussion about the film)
phd in poststructuralist bodies
concerns about bodies of limits- conjoined twins – disability
concern to make sure bioethics does what it says on the tin - ethics of the body
rather than set of rules or principles
look at bioethics through theory, but want to embody theory
bioethics is out of touch, metaphorically and literally
how bring to bear postmodernism on bioethics
in west, we see body as container, self lives in we are also obsessed with our bodies: shape, weight, age,
Descartes – mind and body split
Ross Diprowe (?) - absence of body in bioethics
turn back to body in lots of feminist theory
insistence that can’t see self and body as separate – I am my body
currently looking at heart transplantation – how do recipient’s feel about themselves
people who recover best are those who do not make the split
people who see themselves as separate do not progress well after 3yrs
Naked on the Inside’ - 6 extraordinary people from around the world
I think that the people in this film have never given up the idea of the split
Story of Rick - Has breast cancer – she opts out of conventional medical treatment – would be seen as a conscious moral agent
Breakdown of binaries forces us to re-think all that rely on them
Convention acts as though is distinction between health and disease is questionable
Dave Toole, Leeds – disability dancer
Private Practice and Bioethics – television as a medium for public bioethical education Audrey Dillon
Medical Drama - 52% Americans received health info they believed to be accurate from TV shows - TV can change atts and behaves - Soap operas often used in developing countries a a public health intervention to promote certain behaviours - Measurable impact of behv change - ER study – shows increase in awareness of issues - People who regularly watch ER have
Kaiser Foundation - Grey’s Anatomy - Transmission of HIV - Doctor emphasizes 98% chance of healthy baby – couple don't have abortion - Surveyed around 4000 people - Episode watched by 17.5million people - 46% absorbed the HIV-related info
George Annas - he prepared bioethical content for ER and Chicago Hope - tv series good way to tell issues
“Reel Medicine vs Real Medicine’ - selective entertainment, not comprehensive education o Annas 1995 Sex, Money and Bioethics, HCR
Private Practice - Medical drama, produced by ABC - Spinoff of Grey’s Anatomy - Reasonable TV ranking in USA - Aim of show: to deal with ethics (according to ABC)
Research on PP - watched 30 episodes - identify stories with ethical issues and see processes of ethical decision making - total of 68 stories
ref: Volandes , medical ethics on film
Using Literature to Teach Bioethics Melissa Stobie MLStobie@gmail.com
70% of personal morals stay the same after ethics courses also evidence that ability to act on declined
JM Coetzee – the lives of animals
Finoola
McGee v Attorney General (1974) Recognized a constitutional right to privacy
Article 40.3.3 - right to life of unborn
MR v TR and Others (2006) - 3 frozen embryos