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Bioethics

Bioethics is the field of study concerned with the ethical implications of certain biological and medical procedures, technologies, and treatments. The bioethics curriculum at Saint John Paul the Great Catholic High School is required as integral to the course of studies for the student in each of his four years. The curriculum is designed to instill an ethical perspective based on the dignity of the human person, in order to properly evaluate the various issues to be faced in the 21st Century. John Paul the Great is the only high school in the United States to offer a 4-year curriculum in Bioethics.

Bioethics Department Mission Statement:
“I say this so that no one may deceive you by specious arguments. … See to it that no one captivate you with an empty, seductive philosophy according to human tradition, according to the elemental powers of the world and not according to Christ.” (Eph. 2:4,8)

We provide students with the philosophical foundation whereby they are able to understand both the nature and the dignity of the human person as well as how he can best use his human faculties to achieve genuine fulfillment as a human being in this life and in the life to come. Equipping students with the specific ethical principles normative in the fields of healthcare and the life sciences, the bioethics department analyzes the bioethical issues of our day, integrating ethical knowledge with that of other disciplines in order to determine how the human person should act in order to secure his true happiness. The following three concepts permeate the entire Bioethics curriculum like a recurring theme:

  • The exalted dignity of every human person because of his God-given powers of intellect and free will,
  • The objective nature of ethical norms as laws which are derived from human nature, and
  • The relation of moral norms to genuine human fulfillment.
Graduation Requirements for Bioethics: 
2.5 credits are required, or at least .5 credits for each year in attendance.

 

Required Courses:

  • The Human Person: A Philosophical Perspective
  • Health: An Ethical Approach
  • Principles of Ethics
  • Bioethical Issues at the Beginning of Life
  • Bioethical Issues at the End of Life

Elective Courses:

  • Case Studies and Application in Bioethics
  • The Human Person in a Biotech Age