Unit information: Decision Making at the Beginning and End of Life in 2014/15

Unit name	Decision Making at the Beginning and End of Life
Unit code	COBMM0003
Credit points	30
Level of study	M/7
Teaching block(s)	Academic Year (weeks 1 - 52)
Unit director	Professor. Huxtable
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	Bristol Medical School
Faculty	Faculty of Health Sciences

Description including Unit Aims

This Unit will develop students' understanding of, and critical reflection on, some of the key topics in health care ethics and law as they apply to issues at the beginning and end of human life. Key themes will be covered, including the value of life, self-determination and personhood. Topics to be addressed will include the ethical and legal issues in: (i) termination of pregnancy; (ii) pre-natal diagnosis; (iii) assisted reproduction, including surrogacy and new reproductive technologies, (iv) care of seriously ill newborns, (v) the definition of death, including brain death and organ donation and (vi) euthanasia and its regulation, including the distinction between acts and omissions. Students will have the opportunity to demonstrate application of the knowledge that they have gained through an essay drawing together theoretical and reflective scholarship.

Aims:

This Unit aims to provide students with a systematic understanding and critical awareness of some of the key issues and dilemmas arising at the beginning and end of life. The Unit will focus on the core ethical and legal concepts and issues arising across these fields, notably the concepts of personhood, self-determination and the value of life. Students will learn to distinguish between, critically appraise and apply some of the theories relating to topical issues in these fields and will gain greater insight into the legal and professional obligations in this context.

Intended Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this Unit, students will be able to:

1. Systematically understand core ethical, legal and professional issues arising at the beginning and end of life;
2. Critically assess and apply these core ethical and legal issues to relevant dilemmas, including developing original arguments and reflecting on their validity;
3. Undertake independent research on ethical and legal aspects at the beginning or end of life, drawing on appropriate methodology and research tools; and
4. Show evidence of soundly reasoned and clearly communicated scholarship in health care ethics and law as it applies to the beginning or end of life.

Teaching Information

Student centred teaching & learning strategies will be promoted using the following methods:

• Online tutorials, incorporating discussion boards and guided reading
• Student-centred seminars
• Small group exercises

Assessment Information

Assessment of this unit will comprise the following: (a) A formatively assessed essay plan, which will include a brief literature review; and (b) A summatively assessed essay of 6,000 words (100%), which will assess students’ understanding of and ability to critique the core concepts and overarching issues relevant to the beginning or end of life, as well as the ability to generate reasoned arguments applied to appropriate examples or cases from their professional experience.

Reading and References

1. Harris J & Holm S, eds. (1998). The Future of Human Reproduction: Ethics, Choice and Regulation. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
2. Steinbock B. (1996). Life Before Birth: The Moral and Legal Status of Embryos and Fetuses. New York: Oxford University Press.
3. Scott R. (2007).Choosing Between Possible Lives: Law and Ethics of Prenatal and Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis. Hart Publishing.
4. Dworkin R. (1993). Life’s Dominion: An Argument about Abortion and Euthanasia. London: Harper Collins.
5. Huxtable R. (2007). Euthanasia, Ethics and the Law: From Conflict to Compromise? London: Routledge.
6. Keown J. (2002). Euthanasia, Ethics and Public Policy: An Argument Against Legalisation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.