Medical Ethics

In this seminar we will examine topics such as the physician/patient relationship, medical assisted suicide, terminal sedation, cloning, genetic engineering, transplants, informed consent, elective surgery and reproductive ethics. The goal will be to examine the principals that guide individuals as they struggle with these increasingly complex issues. Students will conduct a semester long research project on some aspect of medical ethics (broadly defined). The culmination of the project will include a written research paper and an oral presentation. It is likely that four or five of the Tuesday meetings will be with the SOAR (Stimulating Opportunities for Retired People) group which will allow the FYS students to interact around the common theme of medical ethics with a group of adults from the Canton area. We will also consider “alternative” healing, approaches to health and disease that many people in the world believe are superior to allopathic medicine.