For our research, we decided to look into the Ethics of Medicine, as we believe it is a very relevant part of today’s society, especially as improvements in technology have allowed for huge advancements within medicine, making it important to keep ethics in mind, as new technology often brings forward more complex ethical dilemmas For the basis of our project, we used the four pillars, as they also serve as the basis of medical ethics and are critical in the judgement making process within medicine. These 4 pillars, created in 1979 by Beauchamp and Childress, are autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence and justice. Doctors aim to follow these four pillars when making decisions regarding a patient’s health, ensuring they have a choice but are also not harmed. However, these pillars can often come into conflict with each other, such as if a patient’s autonomy could cause harm to another – in which case non-maleficence would take precedence. Therefore, ethical dilemmas still require a careful weighing up before deciding which pillar should be given importance in certain matters. We looked at many topics of medicine relevant today. For example, genetic modification, with which the technology necessary for it was discovered in 1973, allowing for disease resistant plants to be created. However, there are ethical concerns regarding the genetic modification of human embryos which, if modified, had no autonomy in the matter, even if they were modified to prevent a disease that could be harmful to them. Another topic investigated was organ allocation. This is relevant today as the amount of organ donors is severely outweighed by the demand for organs. This leads to concerns as to who deserves these organs the most, and computer models have been designed to try to combat bias in the selection process. Despite this, the computer models were trained on biased medical data, leading to unfair selection, with minority ethnic groups being underrepresented. This goes against the justice pillar.

We also investigated euthanasia; it is when someone’s life is intentionally ended to relieve extreme suffering. It can be voluntary (the person chooses it), non-voluntary (others decide for them), or passive (treatment is stopped). Some countries ban it completely, while the UK allows certain choices like DNR orders. Supporters say it respects autonomy and prevents unnecessary pain, but others argue doctors should save lives, not end them. We also researched Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). It is the removal or injury of female genitalia for non-medical reasons. Around 230 million women worldwide have experienced it, often suffering lifelong physical and emotional harm. Although some communities claim it is required for cultural or religious “purity,” FGM goes against all four pillars of medical ethics because it removes choice, causes harm, offers no benefit, and is deeply unjust. The final area of research we explored was abortion; Abortion is the ending of a pregnancy before the foetus can survive outside the womb. In the UK, it is legal up to 24 weeks with approval from two doctors. Many support abortion because it protects autonomy and can prevent physical or mental harm to the patient. Others disagree, believing life begins at conception and should always be protected, suggesting adoption as an alternative.