Philosophy 319: (Feminist) Bioethics

Course Description: Controversies in bioethics have become a regular part of contemporary life. We are in the midst of a biological and technological revolution that raises interesting and important ethical, political, and philosophical questions. Focused especially on concepts of autonomy and dependency, we will explore asking: When does life begin? How do we define death? What life is worth living, who decides, and how? What does it mean to suffer from disease and disability? Should we mandate vaccination for disease? Should we use new technologies for human enhancement? What is a good relationship between a patient and caregivers? What is informed consent and how do we decide who is competent to give it? What is trauma-informed care? Gender-affirming care? Who should take care of our elders and how should we approach end-of-life care? What is our responsibility for providing a just distribution of health-care resources in our communities, both local and global? We'll consider these questions and more in a seminar discussion format. Background in biology suggested. Interested students who don't satisfy the prerequisites should contact the instructor.

Project Description: In small groups, students create a well-researched and reasoned podcast on their chosen topic: Abortion, Disability and Personhood, End-of-Life Care, Epistemic and Obstetric Violence, and Gender-Affirming Care. Podcasts are meant to be educative to a general audience. In the process of creating their podcast, students submit both an annotated bibliography and a podcast outline and attended office hours to further refine ideas. Podcast requirements include: 15-20 minutes in length, have a structure with clear segments (i.e., an introduction, 2-4 main points, and a conclusion), and engage at least 6 sources (3 course readings, 3 peer-reviewed external sources). Additional interviews or media as well as the use of sound effects encouraged, but not required. The most important thing is the content of the podcast, not the form (i.e., quality of philosophy matters more than sound production/editing). Students shared their podcasts with the class in a celebratory listening party during our scheduled finals time (Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 1:30pm in Center 300). As a class, we recommend listening to Luis Rivera and Jordan Donsky's excellent podcast, The Importance of Gender-Affirming Care.

Creator

• Earley, Kam

• Langmaid, James

Contributors

• Rognlie, Dana

Subject

• Euthanasia

• End-of-life care

• Culture

• Assisted suicide

• Rational suicide

• Right to die

• Advance directives (Medical care)

• Bioethics

Abstract

• We focus on the topic of end-of-life care (EOLC) and a central concern: following the cognizant wishes of the patient. We consider cultural and spiritual contexts in the case of euthanasia in order to help ensure dignity and comfortability in the final day of the patient. We include a broad worldview on how the EOLC process is treated in other countries, and we delve into the emotions and family values associated with the euthanasia process.

Language

• English

Identifier

• EndofLifeCareEarleyandLangmaidBioethicspodcast.mp3

Keyword

• Philosophy

Date created

• 2023-05-13

Resource type

• Audio

Rights statement

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/

Bibliographic citation

• Earley, Kam and James Langmaid. End of Life Care, Why it Matters. Philosophy 319: (Feminist) Bioethics. Course Project, Wabash College, Crawfordsville, Indiana, Spring 2023.