Bioethics

Bioethics is the study of potentially controversial ethical issues that arise from the advancements made in modern medicine and science. Fritz Jahr coined the term "bioethics" in 1926, largely in response to scientific experimentation on animals. Since then, the field has expanded to encompass the boundaries of life (from abortion to euthanasia) the allocation of donated organs, and the right to refuse medical treatment based on moral or religious reasons.

Debate rages among bioethicists, as some seek to narrow the field to include only moral decisions over modern medicine and technology, while other want to expand the field to encompass moral decisions that could affect any organism capable of experiencing fear. One of the most major debates in bioethics involved that of human experimentation, and led to the establishment of the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research in 1974. Later, the 1979 Belmont Report, which came out of the Commission, adopted three fundamental principles-autonomy, beneficence, and justice-which have been highly influential across the scope of bioethics.

All full list of bioethical concerns would be exhaustive. However, per-reviewed work covers seemingly the entire range of modern science, from abortion and alternative medicine through medical malpractice, vaccination and xenotransplantation, transplanting living tissue from one species to another.