By Lance Hayes
Published on November 7, 2007
Abortion. Euthanasia. Stem cell research. In vitro fertilization. Drug testing. Organ donation. Cloning. Embryo research.
What do these issues have in common?
All of the above issues, and hundreds more, are part of the larger concept of bioethics, a field of study concerned with the ethical and philosophical implications of certain biological and medical procedures, technologies, and treatments. They include organ transplants, genetic engineering, and care of the terminally ill.
While teaching courses involving different aspects of bioethics, Professors Jeff Wooters and Jim Brady noticed that many of the students had personal experiences that related to the discussions in the courses. Since bioethics is a growing field, they collaborated with Georgia Beliech, Bill Waters, and Todd Neuman to create a theme for the 2007-2008 year at PJC: Bioethics.
“This fall PJC will be embarking on a project focused on bioethics that will include participants from all areas of the college and the Pensacola area,” said Waters, director of distributed learning.
The goal of the bioethics theme is to expand the minds of the students at PJC and the community on the issues within bioethics beyond their class materials. Everyone in the community is invited to this chance to participate in open forum discussions, meetings about bioethics, book suggestions, movies, and even a science fair at the end of the semester.
“Every time Jim Brady and I taught a course about Bioethics here at PJC, it would always get side tracked with people adding personal stories, so we decided to see about opening the subject up to everyone,” Wooters said.
As of Oct. 16 there have been two events held at PJC in Pensacola that were open to the public to learn about and discuss bioethical issues. Future events include a possible outdoor movie screening of “Jurassic Park,” an AIDS seminar this December, an all day workshop in February, and a trivia contest over the book “Next”s by Michael Crichton.
Anyone who wants to learn more about all the events that will be held on the PJC campuses, listen to podcasts, explore the different subjects of bioethics, or contact the bioethics committee members may visit the PJC bioethics website, www.itech. pjc.edu/bioethics.