Ethical Issues in Biological and Allied Sciences

Ethical issues related to biology and other life sciences along with healthcare or medical sciences are studied in a separate discipline named bioethics. In post genomic era, bioethics provides a framework for discussion of ethical, legal and social issues, notably genetic information privacy, genetic discrimination, gene therapy and stem cell research. Medical Ethics or Biomedical Ethics deals with relationships between doctor and patient, including issues such as informed consent, truth-telling and end-of-life decisions. Bioethics, however, is wider because some of the ethical issues arising out of developments in the life sciences concern, not so much the practice of health care, but issues related to research and emerging technologies. The global dimension of many bioethical issues, such as differences in life expectancy, access to resources and the problems caused by pandemics, raise questions regarding the feasibility of a global bioethics.