NCMP109: BIOETHICS 1

SARTO, Andro Ramon M., RR22

I. DEFINITION OF TERMS

a) SEXUALITY – it is a central aspect of being human throughout life which includes

sex, gender roles, sex orientation intimacy, pleasure and reproduction; expressed
in thoughts, fantasies, desires, beliefs, attitudes, values, roles and relationships
and influenced by interaction of all factors
b) MARRIAGE – a legally and socially sanctioned union, usually between
a man and a woman, that is regulated by laws, rules, customs, beliefs, and
attitudes that prescribe the rights and duties of the partners and accords status
to their offspring (if any)
c) ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION – a method of treating infertility by inserting semen
directly into a womb
d) IN VITRO FERTILIZATION – is an assisted reproductive technology (ART) commonly
referred to as IVF; IVF is the process of fertilization by extracting eggs, retrieving a
sperm sample, and then manually combining an egg and sperm in a laboratory
dish
e) SURROGATE MOTHERHOOD – practice in which a woman bears a child for a
couple unable to produce children in the usual way, usually because the wife is
infertile or otherwise unable to undergo pregnancy
f) EUTHANASIA – also called mercy killing; an act or practice of painlessly putting
to death persons suffering from painful and incurable disease or incapacitating
physical disorder or allowing them to die by withholding treatment or
withdrawing artificial life-support measures
g) DYSTHANASIA – for futile or useless treatment, this does not benefit a terminal
patient; it is a process through which one merely extends the dying process and
not life per se; frequently accompanied by suffering, pain and anguish
h) ORTHOTHANASIA – refers to the art of promoting a humane and correct death,
not subjecting patients to misthanasia or dysthanasia and not abbreviating
death either
i) DNR – A do-not-resuscitate order, also known as no code or allow natural death,
is a legal order, written or oral depending on country, indicating that a person
does not want to receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation if that person's heart
stops beating
 NCMP109: BIOETHICS 2
SARTO, Andro Ramon M., RR22

II. WHAT ARE THE PRINCIPLES OF ETHICS IN RESEARCH?

a) MINIMIZING THE RISK OF HARM – where there is the possibility that participants
could be harmed or put in a position of discomfort; there must be strong
justifications for this. Such scenarios will also require: (a) additional planning
illustrating how participant harm (or discomfort) will be reduced, (b) informed
consent, and (c) detailed debriefing.
b) OBTAINING INFORMED CONSENT – informed consent means that participants
should understand that (a) they are taking part in research and (b) what the
research requires of them; information may include the purpose of the research,
the methods being used, the possible outcomes of the research, as well as
associated demands, discomforts, inconveniences and risks that the participants
may face
c) PROTECTING ANONYMITY & CONFIDENTIALITY – researchers need to devise ways
to ask whether participants are willing to talk about sensitive topics without
putting them in awkward situations
d) AVOIDING DECEPTIVE PRACTICES – deception occurs as the result of
investigators providing false or incomplete information to participants for the
purpose of misleading research subjects
e) PROVIDING THE RIGHT TO WITHDRAW – with the exception of those instances of
covert observation where is not feasible to let everyone that is being observed
know what you are doing, research participants should always have the right to
withdraw from the research process