Question

biomedical ethics chapter 14

What effect will the continuing progress of technology have on the job of the ethics committee?

Answer 1

There are two sides of a coin so there are two sides of every situation. With the advance in technology [ in any field] comes a lot of responsibilities too. There is no doubt that our understanding of genetics has enabled us to manipulate life in certain areas. In such a scenario, it is absolutely essential to devise ways and means to keep a check on the use [ or misuse ] of the technology which has transformed the way we live .

Keeping this in mind , bioethics has taken a prominent place and needs to be followed honestly by all those who are concerned with this field.

The job of ethics committee is certainly going to expand. While it is expected that doctors, researchers and scientists are going to follow the ' does and dont's ' strictly . still it is important that certain guidelines be set to keep things in check.

Ethics committee in Health care institutions should be voluntary, educational and advisory in purpose so as to not interfere with the primary responsibility and relationship between physicians and their patients.

The real responsibility of the ethics committee lies in keeping a watch and control over research work . An example of this can be the CRISPR- Cas9 technology. While it is a boon for curing and controling genetic disorders, it can supposedly also be used to produce 'designer' babies i.e. babies who will have the characteristics that the parents want them to have. This will be like trying to play God , and cannot be allowed at any cost.

Our knowledge of microbiology has transformed the production of medicines. But again, the same microbes can be misused for 'biological warfare' among warring nations. And this can be as deadly as using a nuclear weapon !!

So, the Ethics Committee has to work round the clock, keeping track of every new research in the field of biology and chalk out guidelined to be followed by the researchers. Every country should have representatives in the ethics committee and so should there be members from all the global research companies.

Every person is responsible for keeping a curb on himself/herself and the ethics committee has to ensure that their guidelines are followed strictly.

In short, the responsibilities of the ethics committee will increase manifold with the continuing progress of technology.