bioethics

[bahy-oh-eth-iks] /ˌbaɪ oʊˈɛθ ɪks/
noun, (used with a singular verb)
1.
a field of study concerned with the ethics and philosophical implications of certain biological and medical procedures, technologies, and treatments, as organ transplants, genetic engineering, and care of the terminally ill.
Origin
1970-75; bio- + ethics
Related forms
bioethical, adjective
bioethicist
[bahy-oh-eth-uh-sist] /ˌbaɪ oʊˈɛθ ə sɪst/ (Show IPA), noun
Examples from the web for bioethics
  • He trained as both a doctor and a biochemist before venturing into the squishy field of bioethics.
  • But none of us needs a degree in bioethics to find the bottom line in the arguments.
  • It is also a milestone in bioethics, touching as it does on a number of moral and ethical issues surrounding the end of life.
  • All of these issues find their home in my field of philosophy: bioethics.
  • Synthetic biology bioethics panel reaction round-up.
  • My interview was with a hospital chaplain and a member of the hospital's bioethics department.
  • Today, the field of bioethics struggles with its proper scope.
British Dictionary definitions for bioethics

bioethics

/ˌbaɪəʊˈɛθɪks/
noun
1.
(functioning as sing) the study of ethical problems arising from biological research and its applications in such fields as organ transplantation, genetic engineering, or artificial insemination
Derived Forms
bioethical, adjective
bioethicist (ˌbaɪəʊˈɛθɪsɪst) noun
Word Origin and History for bioethics
n.

also bio-ethics, coined 1970 by U.S. biochemist Van Rensselaer Potter II (1911-2001), who defined it as "Biology combined with diverse humanistic knowledge forging a science that sets a system of medical and environmental priorities for acceptable survival." From bio- + ethics.

bioethics in Medicine

bioethics bi·o·eth·ics (bī'ō-ěth'ĭks)
n.
The study of the ethical and moral implications of new biological discoveries and biomedical advances, as in the fields of genetic engineering and drug research.

bioethics in Science
bioethics
  (bī'ō-ěth'ĭks)   
The study of the ethical and moral implications of medical research and practice.
bioethics in Culture

bioethics definition


The application of ethics to the science and practice of biology, especially as modern science is applied to human life and reproduction.

Note: With the advent of cloning and research on embryonic stem cells, bioethics has become an important branch of scientific inquiry.
Encyclopedia Article for bioethics

branch of applied ethics that studies the philosophical, social, and legal issues arising in medicine and the life sciences. It is chiefly concerned with human life and well-being, though it sometimes also treats ethical questions relating to the nonhuman biological environment. (Such questions are studied primarily in the independent fields of environmental ethics [see environmentalism] and animal rights.)

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