Medical Ethics

Pre-session 1993, Section

Professor: Mark van Roojen

1010 Oldfather Hall

472-2428 (w)

438-3724 (h)

Course Requirements: Complete all the readings, attend class and participate in discussions, write one paper on surrogate motherhood or abortion, incorporating some ethical theory, and take a final exam covering the readings and an essay on the distribution of resources.

Grading: 45% paper, 45% final, 10% participation and attendance.

Readings: All readings are included in the packet (available from the bookstore in the union) except for the reading by Foot, which will be made available to you, and the readings by Mill, which is available from the bookstore.

Subject Matter: The course will cover three of the many possible topics of controversy in the field of medical ethics, and will introduce students to some of the background theoretical issues in ethics relevant to the more specific medical issues.

Day 1 - Intro lecture/no reading

Section I: Surrogate Motherhood

Day 2 - NJ Supreme Court Decision, In Re Baby M, 109 NJ 396, 537 A2d 1227 (1988), & Landes & Posner, "The Economics of the Baby Shortage," Journal of Legal Studies 7 (1978), 323-48.

Day 3 - Elizabeth Anderson, "Is Women's Labor a Commodity?" Philosophy & Public Affairs (Winter 1990) pp. 71-92, & Heidi Malm, "Surrogate Motherhood: Arguments and Responses," Public Affairs Quarterly, Vol 3, #2 (April 1989).

Section II: Ethical Theory

Day 4 - Bentham, An Introduction to the Principles of Morals, chapter I, ed by Harrison (Oxford; Basil Blackwell, 1967) pp. 125-131 and Mill, Utilitarianism, chapter II.

Day 5 - Mill, Utilitarianism, chapter V, and Rawls, Theory of Justice, (Cambridge;Harvard Univ. Press, 1971) pp 302-303, & 22-27.

Day 6 - Nozick, Anarchy, State & Utopia, (Basic Books, 1974) pp. 26-35, and Bennett, "Whatever The Consequences," Analysis (January 1966).

Section III: Abortion

Day 7 - Anscombe, "A Note On Mr. Bennett," Analysis (June 1966) & Foot, "The Problem of Abortion & the Doctrine of Double Effect", Oxford Review Number 5, (1967) or in Virtues and Vices (University of California Press, 1978).

Day 8 - Thomson, "A Defense of Abortion," Philosophy & Public Affairs, Vol 1, #1 (Fall 1971) pp. 47-66 & Marquis, "Why Abortion is Immoral," The Journal of Philosophy, 86 (April 1989).

Day 9 - MacKenzie, "Abortion And Embodiment," Australasian Journal of Philosophy (June 1992) pp. 136-155.

Section III. Distribution of Medical Resources.

Day 10 - Aaron & Schwartz, "Rationing Health Care: The Choice Before Us," Science 247 (Jan 26, 1990) pp 418-422, Kapp, "Rationing Health Care: Will It Be Necessary? Can It Be Done Without Age or Disability Discrimination?" Issues in Law and Medicine 5 (Winter 1989) pp. 337-351.

Day 11 - Paper Due. Read Childress, "Who Shall Live When Not All Can Live," Soundings vol. 53, #4 (Winter 1970) pp. 339-355.

Day 12 - Taurek, "Should the Numbers Count?" Philosophy & Public Affairs, Vol. 6, #4 (Summer 1977) pp. 293-316, & Parfitt, "Inumerate Ethics," Philosophy & Public Affairs, Vol. 7, #4 (Summer 1978) pp. 285-301.

Day 13 - Buchanon, "A Right to a Decent Minimum," Philosophy & Public Affairs, Vol. 13, #1 (Winter 1984), & Gibbard, "Health Care and the Prospective Pareto Principle," Ethics 94 (January 1984) pp. 261-282.

Day 14 - Final Exam.