Course Descriptions

All courses are three semester hours unless otherwise noted.

BIOE 600 (Bioethics Core)
Methodological Issues in Bioethics
Bioethics represents a complex intellectual phenomenon. Although an established academic field, it still struggles to find a formal and coherent methodology for the analysis of ethical problems triggered by advances in medicine and the life sciences. The course will, first, look at the historical roots of bioethics, concentrating, in particular, upon the original contribution of theologians and, later on, of philosophers to the field. It will, then, discuss the dominant theories in contemporary bioethics, among others: principlism in its various versions, rights-based theories, casuistry, virtue ethics and the ethics of care.


BIOE 602 (Elective)
Historical Foundations of Bioethics
This course will present the history and intellectual development of key ideas and concepts in bioethics. It will include an analysis of the forces that have shaped bioethics including, sociological, technological, political, and others. The key ideas include, but are not limited to, the basis of human dignity, sanctity of life, codes of ethics, health and illness, professional roles, medical technology, autonomy, beneficence/nonmaleficence, euthanasia, quality of life, truth-telling, playing God, stewardship, and justice.


BIOE 604 (Elective)
Medical Anthropology and Bioethics
This course will explore the role of culture in medicine and how cultures inform ethical discernment. This may include the acculturation of physicians and other health providers in medical training, the acculturation of different people from various ethnic, linguistic, and geographic backgrounds, the variety of understandings of health and illness (including pain) in different cultures, the different ways in which death is understood, and the differences in how medical technology is perceived as an intervention into one’s life. Particular focus would be placed on how these differences influence moral judgment or sentiment regarding specific issues (i.e., specific issues may be used as examples). A section on how diversity in cultures relates to objectivity in ethics may also be included (i.e., how moral relativism is understood in a pluralistic society).


BIOE 610 (Bioethics Core)
Theological Issues in Bioethics
This course will introduce the student to the basic theological concepts, frameworks, and analy¬ses that have been used by both Catholic and Protestant theolo¬gians in their discussions of bioethics. After reviewing the various relationships between religion and medicine and the role that theological reflection can play in bioethics, several specific topics will be discussed and analyzed in depth. Topics such as assisted reproductive technologies, abortion, genetic control, care of severely handicapped neonates, death and dying, and the meaning and application of "quality of life" to contemporary issues will be discussed in both lecture and seminar formats


BIOE 620 (Bioethics Core)
Jurisprudence & Healthcare Law
This course will introduce the student to the basic theories and principles of jurisprudence. In addition, it will familiarize the student with the various types of constitutional and statutory laws that have been promulgated on issues related to bioethics. Special attention will be given to how legal theories and promulgated laws have contributed to bioethics.


BIOE 630 (Bioethics Core)
Topics in Bioethics
The course is an analysis of some of the important topics in bioethics. Students will familiarize themselves with the ethical questions surrounding major topics in contemporary bioethics. The course will focus on one or more of the following topics: medical research with human subjects, the new genetic medicine, social justice and the delivery of healthcare, organ transplantation, death and dying, and the development of techniques for human reproduction.


BIOE 633 (Elective)
Social Justice and Bioethics
This course will examine how social justice is addressed in bioethics. Attention will be paid to the relationship between micro-ethics and macro-ethics. Different theories of justice will be presented along with specific moral problems facing contemporary health care. These may include globalization, resource allocation, rationing, access to health care, preventative medicine and public health (e.g., which may include how we responsibly attend to epidemics, outbreaks, and/or bioterrorist attacks), compensation for organs or participation in research protocols (e.g., egg donation for SCNT and stem cell technology), and managed care and the role of evidence-based medicine. In addition, the course may include a section on how decisions are made from a social perspective on research agendas (i.e., why do we/should we pursue high-tech, high-priced medicine versus allocating those funds to other initiatives).


BIOE 635 (Elective)
Organizational Ethics and Healthcare
This course will address ethical issues in the organization of health care. It will attend to the ethical issues regarding the structures of health care delivery, including decisions on what services to provide and how. For example, should one health care institution enter into a partnership with another? Should Hospital A close its transitional care unit? How is this decision made? This may also include the philosophical basis of health care policy (including the moral significance of policies—are they expressions of middle axioms or norms?). Theological issues (in particular for Catholic or faith-based organizations) in corporate identity and how that identity shapes the services provided and the relationships to other organizations (e.g., to what extent and how does a Catholic organization cooperate with a non-Catholic entity) will also be discussed.


BIOE 640 (Bioethics Core)
Clinical Bioethics and Religious Traditions (Offered in the Summer Only)
This course will focus on the clinical and religious aspects of bioethics in a hospital setting. Every week the students will attend two sets of clinical rounds in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU). During these rounds certain ethical issues will emerge from patient care, and the students will be responsible for researching these issues during the week. On the other class day, the students will attend class at LMU, and seminar discussions of various ethical issues involved in clinical medicine from different religious traditions, e.g., Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Islamic, etc., will be held.


BIOE 650 (Elective, but required of those who do not have sufficient clinical background)
Introduction to Clinical Medicine
This course will introduce the non-clinically trained students to basic medical terminology and clinical medicine in order that they will be able to participate in a bioethics consultation in a medical center. In addition, the course will discuss the ethical dimensions of the physician-patient relationship through a study of the philosophy of medicine.


BIOE 660 (General Ethics Core)
Ethical Theories in Bioethics
This course will study from a philosophical perspective the various ethical theories that have influenced the development of bioethics. The course will use an historical method and concentrate, among others, on the ethical theories of virtue, teleology and deontology in their historical contexts. These theories will then be placed in the context of the development of contemporary bioethics in the United States and Europe.


BIOE 670 (General Ethics Core)
Foundations of Theological Ethics
This course is devoted to a critical analysis of theological ethics firmly rooted in the historical method. The goals are to uncover the foundations of theological ethics and then to study the various ethical methods, methodological issues, critical questions, and the personalities who have shaped the discipline of theological ethics. Special attention will be given to the Roman Catholic tradition. The course will proceed through both lecture and discussion formats, and applications will be made to contemporary topics in bioethics.