The Oxford defines bioethics as ‘the study of the ethical issues that arise from advances in biology and medicine’, but to explain it in simple terms, bioethics is the only thing that stops us from having real-life Captain Americas (or for DC enthusiasts, it is the only thing that stops us from having an army of cyborgs). Bioethics is a field of study that combines two very different subjects, i.e. Biology and Philosophy and deals with the ethical concerns that are commonly faced during biological research. The 19th and 20th centuries have seen an exponential growth in the field of biology, with the emergence of new branches like Biochemistry, Biotechnology, Microbiology and life sciences. Along with the development of these new branches of biology come certain ethical and moral issues that need to be solved for a smooth and safe governance of our society, for solving such ethical issues there are various international organisations that deal with bioethical concerns all around the world like the International Associaton of Bioethics (IAB), World Health Organisation(WHO) and UNESCO’s International Bioethics Committee (IBC).
One might remember the global concerns seen during the testing phase of various COVID-19 vaccines. This concerned the safety of the individuals who volunteered to test the vaccines, but what if I tell you that I’m mediaeval times there was no concept of consensual volunteering, instead in medieval times, prisoners of war or individuals who were found guilty of their crimes were often used for testing drugs and new medical procedures without their consent. For modern minds, the idea of using prison inmates as test subjects might be a very far-fetched and primitive practice, but there were many such barbaric practices that one can see in the recent pages of history. Many such practices were later banned by the Nuremberg Code in 1947. The Nuremberg Code is a set of 10 principles that were decided upon by the bench and bar of the US in response to the heinous acts conducted on the Jews and prisoners of war in the German region of Nuremberg by the Nazis.
The 10 points of the Nuremberg Code can be summarised as
- Consent of the human subject is mandatory; an individual can not be experimented upon unless they are completely aware of the terms of experimentation and consent to being experimented upon.
- Any and every experiment that includes Human beings as its test subjects must have meaningful potential results that aim to improve the lifestyle of society. These experiments are only to be permitted if there is no other way of procuring the results other than human experimentation.
- All the experiments must first be conducted on animal subjects, considering their similar genetic make-up. If the animal tests are successful, they are only then allowed to be conducted on humans.
- Only procedures that are necessary for the experiment to be conducted should be performed, and no unnecessary procedures should be performed.
- If there is any possibility of death or physical/mental injury, then the experiment should not be conducted, with the only exception being if the scientist conducting the experiment agrees to be experimented upon.
- The experiment should not harm the individual being experimented on and should not exceed the risk determined by the humanitarian importance of the issue under study.
- Before the beginning of the procedure, all proper preparations should be made and the necessary facilities should be provided to protect the subject from any possibility of injury or death.
- All experiments should be conducted by qualified authorities, such as doctors or specialists, and maintaining the quality of the workforce should be a priority.
- If the individual who is being experimented upon feels like they can not proceed with the experiment, then they have the right to quit the experiment midway.
- At any point throughout the experimentation, if the scientist sees any chance of injury, disability, or death to the subject, then the scientist in charge should terminate the experiment from proceeding further.
Another aspect that bioethics discusses is the use and development of biological weapons, i.e. the weapons that include Viruses/ Bacteria and other biotic biological organisms. These Bioweapons, once initiated, can not be controlled as they are living beings with a will of their own and spread uncontrollably as per the availability of suitable resources and environment. In many cases, even if a cure is present, these viruses/bacteria have the ability to evolve quickly and adapt, thereby creating natural resistance to antibiotics. But what makes bioweapons truly dangerous is that these weapons don’t really see boundaries and thus can not be contained to a specified geographical boundary, leading to the risk of attack on one’s own citizens or allies.
One of the earliest recorded uses of biological warfare is seen during the siege of Caffa, which was one of the key events in the Genoese-Mongol War. This war was fought at the Crimean port of Caffa between the Christian Genoese merchants and the Islamic Mongol Golden Horde. The battle started when some Christian refugees sought refuge from the Mongols, who had found shelter in the trading city of Caffa. When the Mongol generals demanded that the merchants of Caffa hand over the criminals, their demand was denied, leading to the declaration of war. The initial siege started in 1343, but the Mongols had to retreat due to the arrival of an Italian relief force that came to aid the Genoese merchants. Following this defeat, Jani Beg, the Khan of the Golden Horde and a descendant of the Great Chengis Khan, led another siege, cutting off all the supplies to the cities. During the same time, the plague, also known as the Black Death, an extremely infectious disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, which originated from the now-Russian steppe, was spreading through the Mongol territory and had already started spreading within Jani Beg’s camp. This resulted in a lot of casualties. Being a military expert, the Khan took the bodies of the dead and infected soldiers and catapulted them into the city walls. This inhumane act led to the spread of the Black Death within the city, eventually leading to the Genoese merchants surrendering and returning to Italy. While returning to Europe, the said Genoese merchant clans carried the Black Death along with them; Since Italy was a huge trade hub, it led to the spread of the black death across the known world, leading to a worldwide pandemic. Although it impacted the entire known world, Europe suffered the worst impact. Different sources state different death tolls, ranging from 25 million to 200 million deaths between 1347 and 1353, the majority of which occurred in Europe. This case is the perfect example of how fast and how widely these biological weapons can spread. Furthermore, what makes them even more deadly is that most of the time, the effects of these biological weapons can not be controlled, thus putting the existence of the entire human race under threat. Now imagine a modern black death, specially engineered just to create mayhem and disrupt the socio-economic backbone of a nation.
When it comes to being used as test subjects, animals face a dreadful fate than we humans do, as it’s mandatory for the tests to be performed on animals before using humans as test subjects; furthermore, the framework of rules regarding animal testing is vaguely set, leading to mistreatment of animals and animal abuse. By now, one must be convinced that the advancements in the field of biology are nothing but bad, dont get me wrong, even though these biological practices might have an evil side, but the benefits they have surpass their potential evils, as these advances are something have given us boons like modern medicine and potentially cancer killing viruses.
If you’re someone who has kept themself up to date with current affairs, then they might know that a group of scientists have recently de-extinct the direwolves, a species which was extinct for more than a millennium. These wolves were the apex predators of their time and roamed the earth along with woolly mammoths. Although this technique of de-extinction can be used in many positive ways but one should be mindful of its effects on the environment, as one wrong species revived can destroy an entire ecosystem, which can often lead to the potential extinction of many other species.
Not all advances in science are bad; modern science has given us the boon of advanced medicines. Homo sapiens have had an exponential growth in understanding the technical problems faced by the mortal body which has helped us in finding ways to further shift the expiry date of our lives. The Advances in modern medicine have facilitated our longevity. For instance, the average lifespan of a human in the post-World War 2 era was around 45.7 years compared to the current lifespan of 72 years; we have come a long way, making humans the only species to increase their average life expectancy. Furthermore, advances in science, especially in biology, have significantly enhanced our awareness of the world around us and deepened our understanding of human life. From decoding the human genome to breakthroughs in vaccine development, these innovations help us tackle everyday challenges, such as disease prevention, food security, and climate change. For instance, during the COVID-19 pandemic, rapid scientific research led to life-saving vaccines. However, such progress also brings ethical dilemmas, environmental risks, and rising healthcare costs. In conclusion, while advancements in biology offer immense benefits, they come with a price that society must weigh carefully to ensure responsible progress.