Postgraduate - UnitAPG5730 - Bioethics, public policy, and the law

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2014 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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12 points, SCA Band 1, 0.250 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered, or view unit timetables.

Level	Postgraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Arts
Organisational Unit	Centre for Human Bioethics
Offered	City (Melbourne) First semester 2014 (Day) Clayton First semester 2014 (Off-campus)
Coordinator(s)	Dr Ryan Tonkens

Notes

Previously coded CHB5204

Synopsis

This unit provides a framework for analysing and evaluating public policy and law in areas of concern in bioethics. The unit focuses initially on what values the state ought to promote, and the formulation of public policy in democratic pluralist societies. These political moralities are then used to examine current law and public policy in areas of bioethical concern, such as abortion, pre-birth testing, embryonic stem cell research, reproductive cloning, surrogate motherhood, voluntary euthanasia, and the treatment of newborn infants with severe disabilities. The unit also considers law and public policy in relation to informed consent, conflict of interest, and the regulation of research on humans.

Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students should have acquired the skills to:

uncover the political values underlying views about State regulation of various reproductive and health care practices;
think critically about those political values;
understand some of the practical problems in State regulation of various reproductive and health care practices;
develop sufficient understanding of the ethics of regulating various reproductive and health care practices to provide a basis for forming your own views on these matters.

Assessment

Written work (5000 words): 50%
Take home exam: 50%

Chief examiner(s)

Dr Ryan Tonkens

Workload requirements

For on-campus students: four day-long seminars during the semester, most likely in Weeks 1, 4, 7 and 10.
For off-campus students: no timetabled contact hours although students are welcome to attend seminars for on-campus students when the unit is running in both modes.