What do you mean by Bioethics? Give with example? What are the major principles and values of Bioethics?

In the year 2019,Chinesedoctor who shocked the scientific community  by announcing the birth of twins whose genes had allegedly been altered to confer immunity to HIV.(“illegally carrying out the human embryo gene-editing intended for reproduction), The claim shocked scientists of entire  worldwide, raising questions about bioethics. 

What do you mean by Bioethics? 

"The discipline dealing with the ethical implications of biological research and applications especially in medicine. Bioethics includes the study of what is right and wrong in new discoveries and techniques in biology, such as genetic engineering and the transplantation of organs."or 

Bioethics refers to the principles and guidelines set for guiding research from its inception till the completion and scientific publication of the research results. It is an ethical theory that brings together the law, medicine, philosophy, social sciences, theology, politics and other disciplines to address questions related to clinical decision making, informed consent and medical research.

Bioethics looks at "what should be done" when dealing with or taking care of people and other living creatures. Bioethics looks at questions about values and what matters in medicine, biological research, care of people who cannot speak up for themselves (the severely mentally ill, small children, prisoners) and similar topics. The word is made up of two parts: "bio" (from the Greek word for "life") and "ethics", so it is the study of ethics as it relates to living things.

Bioethics Principles:

Early founders of bioethics put forth four principles which form the framework for moral reasoning.

Nonmaleficence

One should avoid causing harm. The healthcare professional should not harm the patient. All treatment involves some harm, even if minimal, but the harm should not be disproportionate to the benefits of treatment.

Justice

Benefits and risks should be fairly distributed. The notion that patients in similar positions should be treated in a similar manner.

Beneficence

One should take positive steps to help others. Considers the balancing of benefits of treatment against the risks and costs; the healthcare professional should act in a way that benefits the patient

Autonomy

One should respect the right of individuals to make their own decisions by respecting the decision making capacities of autonomous persons; enabling individuals to make reasoned informed choices.

Fundamental Values at Stake

Human life

Authenticity

Responsibility

Intrinsic value

Bodily integrity

Fair and just healthcare

Dignity of the frail and elderly

Ability to make reasonable decisions.

Primum non nocere’ is the primary, guiding principle of bioethics. Every health-care worker is oriented on the principle of ‘First, do no harm’ during their training. All medical training is based on this idea, but very little in what they learn prepares them for the reverse: When harm is inflicted upon them.

Example :In the outbreak of covid-19, stories of assaults on health-care workers, on COVID-19 duty, have been reported. Visuals beamed in of angry locals who threw stones at doctors, health-care workers and civic officials who went to screen people in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. 

The situation is against the principle Primum non nocere’ is the primary, guiding principle of bioethics. The responsibility of restoring order and ensuring the safety of all health workers, whether with personal protective equipment, or against attacks from the public ultimately rests with the government, and in equal measure, the people.

• The aim of bioethics is to enable ethical issues to keep updated with the recent scientific and medical breakthroughs.
•  The scope of Bioethics has well expanded to include the moral queries raised by the Human Genome Project, artificial and in-vitro fertilization, stem cell research, the biotechnology and genetic engineering, cloning, genetic identification and diagnosis, nanotechnology and xenotransplantation, surrogacy, etc. Have bioethics issues, so government need frame ethical framework in makeing before law.