UMS : Unit: DT9060C

Content

This unit examines the biblical perspective on the value of human life and health care, considers the basic principles of Christian health ethics, the primacy of the person and the duty of reasonable care at every stage of human life and moral principles relevant to the identity of Catholic hospitals. Topics covered include abortion, euthanasia, the withholding of treatment, HIV/AIDS, rape, the anencephalic foetus, transplants of donated organs, human research, the allocation of scarce resources, triage and other issues raised by the environment, and modern medical technology: prenatal diagnosis, treatments for infertility, reproductive technology and embryonic stem cell research.

Unit code: DT9060C

Unit status: Approved (Major revision)

Points: 24.0

Unit level: Postgraduate Elective

Unit discipline: Moral Theology

Delivery Mode: Face to Face

Proposing College: Catholic Theological College

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Learning outcomes

1.	Articulate an understanding of how the Catholic bioethical principles are based on insights drawn from biblical texts, the Christian tradition, Catholic teaching and sound philosophical reasoning for the good of the human person;
2.	Engage critically with arguments to support a Christian understanding of Bioethics and Healthcare Ethics in response to its secular critics;
3.	Analyse and evaluate arguments for the moral inviolability of human life from conception to death, including cases of voluntary euthanasia;
4.	Demonstrate a significant appreciation of the general ethical responsibilities of healthcare professionals in their dealings with patients and/or their children, born or unborn;
5.	Apply Catholic ethical principles in a critical and nuanced manner to frequently occurring cases in the domain of assisted reproductive technology, pregnant women whose unborn children may be affected by a congenital abnormality, and extremely low birth weight newborns;
6.	Confidently demonstrate the ability to educate the Church and wider community about the topics covered in the unit;
7.	Demonstrate a competency which would enable them to serve as a member of the Clinical Ethics Committee of a Catholic Hospital.

Unit sequence

Prerequisites: DT2000C Fundamental Moral Theology or DT8001C Catholic Theological Ethics or Equivalent.

Prohibited combinations: This unit is not available to students who have previously completed DT2060C/DT3060C.

Pedagogy

Lectures, tutorials

Indicative Bibliography

Ashley, Benedict M., Jean de Blois, and Kevin D. O’Rourke. Health Care Ethics: A Theological Analysis. 5th ed. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2006.
Beauchamp, Tom L. & James F. Childress. Principles of Biomedical Ethics. 7th edition. Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press, 2013.
Catholic Health Australia. Code of Ethical Standards for Catholic Health and Aged Care Services in Australia. Red Hill, ACT: Catholic Health Australia, 2001.
Fisher, Anthony. Catholic Bioethics for a New Millennium. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012.
Ford, Norman. The Prenatal Person: Ethics from Conception to Birth. Oxford: Blackwell, 2002.
Geach, Mary, and Luke Gormally, eds. Human Life, Action and Ethics: Essays by G. E. M. Anscombe. Exeter: Imprint Academic, 2005.
Gill, Robin. Health Care and Christian Ethics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
Udo Schüklenk and Peter Singer, eds. Bioethics: An Anthology. 4th ed. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2021.
Morrison, Eileen E., ed. Healthcare Ethics: Critical Issues for the Twenty-First Century. 4th ed. Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett, 2018.
O’Rourke, Kevin D., ed. A Primer for Health Care Ethics: Essays for a Pluralist Society. 2nd ed. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2000.
Shannon, Thomas and Nicholas Kochler. An Introduction to Bioethics, 4th ed. New York/Mahwah: Paulist Press, 2009. (recommended for purchase)
Taylor, Carol R., and Roberto Dell’Oro, eds. Health and Human Flourishing. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2006.

Assessment

Type	Description	Word count	Weight (%)
Essay	Seminar presentation (1,500 word equivalent)	1500	20.0
Essay	3000 word essay	3000	40.0
Essay	3000 word essay	3000	40.0

Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by Prof Albert Haddad on 16 Aug, 2022

Unit record last updated: 2022-08-16 17:25:56 +1000