I vividly remember the first lecture of my postgraduate degree in Bioethics back in 2015. The lecturer divided the students into groups of four and gave us a few questions to discuss between us. One of the questions was, “What is bioethics?” Later, we were asked to write an essay on who can be a bioethicist. It has been eight years since that first lecture, but admittedly, I still reflect on those two questions to this day.
When I joined the course leading to a Master’s Degree in Bioethics, I had already touched upon some bioethical issues, both as a professional medical laboratory scientist and as a graduate in Theology. That said, I keep being amazed at the sheer broadness of this particular field of study. Bioethical questions arise in medicine and the life sciences, but also in public policy, law, technology, and the social sciences among others. One look at past research carried out by Maltese students of Bioethics can attest to this – from Neuroscience to food ethics, from Community care to reproductive technology, from Robotics to the use of biometric personal data in the criminal justice system, from the promotion of breastfeeding to Intersex ethics.
What is, therefore, bioethics? Bioethical discourse links ethical, scientific, legal and societal issues and affords them the human perspective. It is a multi-disciplinary field that aims to address and mitigate conflicts arising from competing values. Bioethics concerns itself with the wellbeing of society but also of the individual, whoever the individual may be. It ensures that the relationship between human activities and the environment is respectful of present and future generations and it imparts the tools needed to understand, reflect upon, discuss and ultimately make informed choices.
Who can be a bioethicist? Bioethical issues concern everyone – people of all ages, sex, gender, race, religion and nationality. Thus, bioethical discourse is rooted in people of all backgrounds. Being multidisciplinary and traditionally associated with biomedicine and research, bioethicists usually have an academic background in medicine, law, education, social work, social policy, political science, psychology, philosophy and the health sciences, but in reality, anyone may find this field of study relevant and enlightening. The Faculty of Theology at the University of Malta is once again offering a three-year programme (two years taught, one year research) for anyone wishing to further their studies in a field which is all-encompassing and certainly relevant to today’s society.
For further information kindly visit https://www.um.edu.mt/courses/overview/PMABETPET8-2021-2-O.
Claudia Bartolo Tabone, M.A. Bioethics, B.A. (Hons.) Theology, Dip. Health Sciences (MLS). M.Phil./PhD candidate in Ethics (Research Title: Intersex and Fertility: Ethical and Legal Issues)