Professor John Harris - The human body: Its scope, limits and future
Funded by a Strategic Award in Biomedical Ethics
This multidisciplinary programme combines philosophical, legal and sociological research in five interlinked areas.
Human biomaterials
Organ donation and transplantation are a growing concern in medicine. How should this area be managed and regulated for the greatest benefit, in light of the severe donor organ shortage and ethical concerns related to the procedures involved and to possible exploitation of donors? Another area of particular interest is that of biobanking: the collection and storage of tissues for research and possibly for therapy. What structures are needed to safeguard the interests of those involved, and what uses of stored tissue should be permitted?
Genethics
The modern science of molecular genetics has transformed our understanding of medicine and human biology. Knowledge of the sequence of the human genome, clinical and forensic genetic testing, and the ability to predict various healthcare outcomes on the basis of genetic tests are all part of the 'new genetics'. But what can we do with this wealth of information - and what ought we to do?
Reproduction
This research area examines the ethical implications of new and emerging assisted reproductive technologies (ART). The use of ART enables many people to have children and may in time permit us to direct our own evolution. However, ART raises numerous questions about the processes used and about reproduction itself: is it always ethically acceptable to use ART? Who should have access to these technologies? What impact might ART have on society, particularly conceptions of parenthood and family?
Enhancement
Should we use science to make ourselves and our children better? What does it mean to be 'better' or 'improved' or 'normal' (without a definition of which the idea of improving on 'normal' is meaningless)? Is there anything about enhancement that is either morally unacceptable or, conversely, morally obligatory?
Methods in bioethics
While many of the programme's research interests concentrate on questions of applied and practical ethics, often with a focus on a particular technology or medical issue, it also conducts research at the level of more abstract philosophy. Such investigations are important to the development of new modes of bioethical thought and therefore to the field of bioethics as a whole.
