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Bioethics May 18, 2024

Project Leads: Leah Pierson (Harvard University), Sophia Gibert (Massachusetts Insitute of Technology), Haley Sullivan (Harvard University), Rachel Fei (Wellesley College), Govind Persad (University of Denver), Emily Largent (University of Pennsylvania) Publication: The American Journal of Bioethics

Bioethics

Bioethicists influence practice and policies in medicine, science, and public health. However, little is known about bioethicists' views in aggregate. Leah Pierson and colleagues recently surveyed 824 U.S bioethicists on a wide range of ethical issues, including topics related to abortion, medical aid in dying, and resource allocation. The researchers aimed to contact everyone who presented at American Society for Bioethics and Humanities in 2021 or 2022 and/or is affiliated with a US bioethics training program. Of the 1,713 people contacted, 824 (48%) completed the survey.

Primary results

  1. A large majority (87%) of bioethicists believed that abortion was ethically permissible.
  2. 82% thought it was permissible to select embryos based on somewhat painful medical conditions, whereas only 22% thought it was permissible to select on non-medical traits like eye color or height.
  3. 59% thought it was ethically permissible for clinicians to assist patients in ending their own lives.
  4. 15% of bioethicists thought it was ethically permissible to offer payment in exchange for organs (e.g. kidneys).

  1. Question 1

    Please provide your opinion on whether the following actions are ethically permissible.
    1. • Is abortion ethically permissible?
    2. • Is it ethically permissible to select some embryos over others for gestation on the basis of somewhat painful medical conditions?
    3. • Is it ethically permissible to make trade-offs between human welfare and non-human animal welfare?
    4. • Is it ethically permissible for a clinician to treat a 14-year-old for opioid use disorder without their parents’ knowledge or consent?
    5. • Is it ethically permissible to offer payment in exchange for blood products?
    6. • Is it ethically permissible to subject people to regulation they disagree with, solely for the sake of their own good?
    7. • Is it ethically permissible for clinicians to assist patients in ending their own lives if they request this?
    8. • Is it ethically permissible for a government to allow an individual to access treatments that have not been approved by regulatory agencies, but only risk harming that individual and not others?
    9. • Is it ethically permissible to consider an individual’s past decisions when determining their access to medical resources?
    10. • Is it ethically permissible to select some embryos over others for gestation on the basis of non-medical traits (e.g., eye color, height)?
    11. • Is it ethically permissible to offer payment in exchange for organs (e.g., kidneys)?
    12. • Is it ethically permissible for decisional surrogates to make a medical decision that they believe is in a patient's best interest, even when that decision goes against the patient’s previously stated preferences?
    13. • Is it ethically permissible for a clinician to provide life-saving care to an adult patient who has refused that care and has decision-making capacity?

    Results

    survey 1 responses

  2. Question 2

    In general, should policymakers consider non-health benefits and harms (like whether expanding access to a service will reduce beneficiaries’ financial risk) when allocating medical resources?

    Results

    survey 2 responses

  3. Question 3

    A being becomes a person at...

    Results

    survey 3 responses

  4. Question 4

    Does the fact that a person's life is expected to be worth living once we bring them into existence give us a moral reason to bring them into existence?

    Results

    survey 4 responses

  5. Question 5

    If there are not enough lifesaving resources for everyone at risk of death, we should:

    Results

    survey 5 responses

  6. Question 6

    Is being unable to see disadvantaging?

    Results

    survey 6 responses

  7. Question 7

    It is most important to prevent someone from dying at which of the following ages:

    Results

    survey 7 responses