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Bioethics

Code: 102282
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Law OP 4

Contact lecturer

Name :
Marc Abraham Puig Hernandez
Email :
marcabraham.puig@uab.cat

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

Intellectual interest and discursive and critical ability to analyze new challenges posed by the scientific advances in the fields of Law, life sciences and biomedicine.

The teaching of the subject will be taught taking into account the perspective of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Objectives

Analysis of the historical and scientific context in which "Bioethics" is born.
 
Identification of the new problems and current debates generated by the new advances in the field of life sciences and biomedicine, especially those derived from the use of Assisted Reproductive Techniques.
 
Study of the existing legal regulation.
 
Understanding of the plurality of ideas and values around these issues in today's democratic societies.
 
Create an appropriate space of debate to facilitate the adoption of personal positions based on possible consensus, to evaluate the legal regulations, existing social conventions and moral convictions.

Learning outcomes

  1. Demonstrating a sensible and critical reasoning: analysis, synthesis, conclusions.
  2. Identifying and solving problems.
  3. Working in teams, being either a member or a coordinator of working groups, as well as making decisions affecting the whole group.
  4. Students must be effective in a changing environment and when facing new tasks, responsibilities or people.
  5. Working in multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary fields.
  6. Students must be capable of producing initiative, creative and innovative knowledge, as well as new ideas.
  7. Students must be capable of perceiving the impact and implications of the decisions taken.
  8. Associating law and current social problems.
  9. Applying the current discussions about gender and law, bioethics, law and technology and sociology of law to the legal practice.
  10. Identifying in the jurisprudence the several problems proposed by subject.
  11. Describing the evolution of jurisprudence in relation to the contemporary problems about gender and law, bioethics, law and technology and sociology of law.
  12. Identifying the problems of law implementation.
  13. Exploring the law-society relations in the fields of gender and law, bioethics, law and technology and sociology of law.
  14. Interpreting the contributions of gender and law, bioethics, law and technology and sociology of law.
  15. Identifying the socio-legal problems in the current socio-legal theories.
  16. Distinguishing the different critical contributions to the theory of Law.

Contents

Contents:
1. Origins: Science and technology during the twentieth century; definitions of Bioethics; bioethical conflict resolution.
2. Gender, moral pluralism and cultural diversity.
3. Bioethics and Law: Regulating medicine; informed consent; Bioethics committees.
4. Technology and Big Data: Research; user information; new technologies and information technologies vs. fundamental rights.
5. Health treatments: Human and animal experimentation; patients' rights; medical record privacy.
6. Sexual and reproductive rights: Sex education and contraceptive methods; abortion; conscientious objection of health professionals.
7. Assisted Reproduction I: Assisted Human Reproduction Techniques; embryoslegal status; gamete donation and anonymity.
7. Assisted Reproduction II: Surrogacy; reproductive cloning; individual freedom, contract and market.
9. Human Genetics: Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis; gene therapy; genetics and eugenics.
10. The end of life: Treatment refusal; palliative care and terminal sedation; euthanasia.
11. Justice and Health: Health resources allocation; equality and health; obligations towards future generations.

Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Reading 37.5 1.5 5, 6, 7, 9, 12, 14
Practical classes and teamwork 22 0.88 4, 5, 6, 7
Theoretical classes 22 0.88 1, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16
Exam preparation 57.5 2.3 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16

The teaching of the subject and the training of the students will be done during the course based on the following activities:

1. Targeted activities:

1.1. Theoretical classes: students will achieve reach the theoretical framework of the subject and their contextualization. These activities require less interactivity and are conceived primarily as a one-way method of transmitting knowledge from the professor to the students.

 1.2. Practical classes: students analyze, together with the professor, documents, legislation and other materials to critically understand what is explained in the theoretical classes.

2. Supervised activities: Activities developed by students with the supervision and support of professors.

3. Autonomous activities: Elaboration of cases that will be exposed and discussed in the classroom; search of bibliography and material complementary to the one facilitated by the professor; Comprehensive reading of texts and critical analysis of audiovisual materials.

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Practical case 25% 3 0.12 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14
Final exam 50% 3 0.12 1, 2, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16
Team work 25% 5 0.2 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16

In the event that a student copies, commits plagiarism, or is found in possession of a prohibited device during an assessment, the teaching staff shall award a mark of 0 for that specific assessment activity and shall report the incident to the Faculty Dean’s Office, submitting a report detailing the circumstances and evidence of the occurrence, with a view to requesting the initiation of potential disciplinary proceedings against the student. This assessment activity shall not be eligible for reassessment. In the event that more than one irregularity occurs within the assessment activities of the same module, the final mark for that module shall be 0.


Evaluation (for attending students)

The final grade will be obtained from the following elements:

1.1 Continuous evaluation of the classes. (50% of the note)

Attendance at seminars, based on just cause assumptions, will be mandatory for students.

Teamwork 25%.

Practical case 25%.

1.2 Final exam. (50% of the note)

The final exam must be passed with a mark higher than 5 to average with the rest of the qualifications of the continuous evaluation.

Students will be assessable as long as they have completed a set of activities whose weight is equivalent to a minimum of 2/3 of the total grade for the subject. If the value of the activities carried out does not reach this threshold, the subject teacher may consider the student as \"non-evaluable\". The minimum attendance requirement for the subject in order to be eligible for assessment is 80% of the sessions.


Single Assessment

First Part (25%). Multiple choice.

Second Part (25%). Essay question.

Common activity, same as the final exam (50% of the note).

The same non-evaluable criterion will be applied as for the continuous evaluation.


Re-evaluation

There will be a re-evaluation just of the part related to the final exam. For single assessment students, the same re-evaluation system will be applied as for continuous assessment.

Themaximum grade in the re-evaluation cannot be higher than 6.


Use of AI


Restricted use: In this subject, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is permitted exclusively for bibliographic or information searches and for the correction of texts in classroom activities. Students must clearly identify which parts have been generated using this technology, specify the tools employed, and include a critical reflection on how these have influenced both the process and the final outcome of the activity. Failure to disclose the use of AI in this assessed activity shall be considered a breach of academic integrity and may result in a partial or total penalty in the mark for the activity, or in more severe penalties in cases of greater seriousness.

Bibliography

ÁLVAREZ PLAZA, Consuelo & RIVAS, Ana M. (2020): Etnografía de los mercados reproductivos: actores, instituciones, legislaciones, Valencia, Tirant lo Blanch.

BOLADERAS, Margarita (ed.) (2012): Bioética, Género y Diversidad cultural, Barcelona, Proteus.

CASADO, María & ROYES, Albert (coords.) (2012): Sobre bioética y género, Navarra, Thomson/Aranzadi.

CASADO, María & LÓPEZ BARONI, Manuel (2019): Handbook of secular Bioethics (I) Key Issues, Barcelona, Edicions Universitat de Barcelona. Available in: http://www.bioeticayderecho.ub.edu/sites/default/files/handbook-secular-bioethics-i.pdf

DE LORA, Pablo; GASCÓN, Marina (2008): Bioética. Principios, Desafios, Debates, Madrid, Alianza Editorial.

Documents on Bioethics and Big Data: exploitation and commercialisation of user data in public health. Available in: http://www.publicacions.ub.edu/refs/observatoriBioEticaDret/documents/08209.pdf

DOLGIN, Janet L. (2005): Bioethics and the Law, New York, Aspen Publishers.

DICKENSON, Donna (2012): Bioethics: all that matters, London, Hodder Education.

DWORKIN, Ronald (1994): El dominio de la vida, Barcelona, Ariel.

HABERMAS, Jürgen (2002): El futuro de la naturaleza humana ¿Hacia una eugenesia liberal?, Barcelona, Paidós.

KUHSE, Helga and SINGER, Peter (2011): A companion to Bioethics, Oxford: Wiley Blackwell.

MACHIN, R., ÁLVAREZ PLAZA, C., & PUIG HERNÁNDEZ, M. A. (2023). The reproductive silk route: transnational mobility of oocytes from Europe to Brazil. Mobilities, 19(2), pp. 282–295. https://doi.org/10.1080/17450101.2023.2220976

RODEN, David (2017) “Humanism, Transhumanism and Posthumanism”, available in: https://www.academia.edu/353704/Humanism_Transhumanism_and_Posthumanism

ROMEO CASABONA, Carlos M. (dir.) (2022): Manual de Bioderecho, Madrid, Dykinson.

SANDEL, Michael J. (2012): What money can’t buy: the moral limits of the markets, Farrar, Straus & Giroux.

SANDEL, Michael J. (2007): The case against perfection: Ethics in the age of genetic engineering, Cambridge, Harvard University Press.

SINGER, Peter (1993); Practical Ethics, second edition, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.

SINGER, Peter (2009): Animal Liberation: a new Ethics for our treatment of animals, New York, Harper Perennial Modern Classics.

SINGER, Peter & KUHSE, Helga (1999): Bioethics. An Anthology, Oxford, Blackwell Publishing.

TOMLINSON, Tom (1998) “Balancing Principles in Beauchamp and Childress” Michigan State University. Available in: https://www.bu.edu/wcp/Papers/Bioe/BioeToml.htm

Software

The subject does not requiere any specific software

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TE) Theory 1 English first semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 English first semester morning-mixed