HUMR5160 – Bioethics and human rights

The course will study the issues arising in the intersection between bioethics and human rights. Bioethics is the interdisciplinary study of the ethical aspects of medicine, human biotechnology and the life sciences as applied to human beings. It covers issues such as medical experimentation on human beings, human genome editing, genetic selection of children, euthanasia, elective abortion, access to scarce medical resources, organ donation and many other - issues which all are relevant for human rights.

Through discussions of a set of concrete topics in bioethics, the course will discuss both the human right implications of developments in medicine and biotechnology and how a human rights framework can be applied to bioethical questions, thus highlighting some of the core human rights relevant for bioethical issues, such as the right to privacy or the right to life. Through discussions of relevant court cases and opinions, as well as of the existing international legal framework regulating bioethics (with a particular focus on European human rights law), the course will also engage in discussions of the moral justification of the different rights and constraints found in this framework and more broadly in a discussion of the relation between ethics and law both in bioethics and in human rights.

In addition to discussing specific applied topics in bioethics and human rights, the course will also address several theoretical questions related to bioethics and human rights, such as the importance and limits of consent and autonomy and the role of the concept of human dignity, thus providing students with the tools to address new and different topics from those discussed in class. The course will also discuss the role and legitimacy of bioethics institutions, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of taking a human rights approach to bioethics.

The course will adopt an interdisciplinary approach, but the primary disciplinary focus will be on ethical analysis and argumentation. The readings will include both classical and contemporary texts in bioethics, as well as legal scholarship. Participants do not need to have prior training in ethics or law in order to enroll in the course.

For students enrolled in Rettsvitenskap (jus) (master - 5 år) (uio.no): Have you considered a specialization as part of your degree? The course is part of the profile Internasjonal rett og menneskerettigheter.

After having completed this course the student will have acquired:

• Good knowledge of central applied topics within bioethics and their implications for human rights
• Good knowledge of main human rights relevant for bioethical questions
• Good understanding of different ethical theories and approaches within bioethics and their relationship to human rights-based approaches
• Good understanding of core concepts related to bioethics and human rights
• Good understanding of what a human rights approach to bioethics involves
• Good knowledge of the institutional and legal framework pertaining to bioethics and human rights

After having completed this course, the student will have the skills to:

• Identify the ethical and human rights implications of innovations in biomedicine, biotechnology and the life sciences
• Discuss applied topics within bioethics from an ethical and human rights point of view
• Provide reasoned normative conclusions on bioethical questions
• Critically assess the legal human rights framework regulating bioethics from an ethical perspective

Having completed this course the student will have the general competence to:

• Engage in professional and societal debates about bioethical questions
• Write reports, analyses and recommendations on bioethical issues, both general and concrete, from an ethical and human rights perspective
• Assess strengths and weaknesses of taking a human rights approach to bioethical questions

You may register for this course if you have admission to a Master’s programme at UiO or the faculty's exchange programme and meet the formal prerequisites. Priority will be given to students enrolled in the study programme The Theory and Practice of Human Rights (master).

If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.

Students admitted to other Master`s programmes may apply for guest student status.

When your admission is in order you must register for courses in StudentWeb (uio.no).

Students are graded on the basis of a 7 days written home exam and an oral exam (20 min) that will take place after the home exam assignment.

The oral exam is primarily a conversation about the candidate's assignment. The oral examination will also verify that the student has written the assignment. See more information about the oral exam.

You submit your answer in the digital exam system.

Maximum length for written home exam is 4000 words. Front page, contents page (optional) and bibliography are not included. If footnotes are used in the text (at the bottom of each page), they are included in the word limits.

Papers that exceed the the word limit will be rejected.

You must familiarize yourself with the rules that apply to exam support materials, and the use of sources and citations. If you violate these rules, you may be suspected of cheating or attempted cheating. You can read about what the university considers cheating, and the consequences of cheating here.

All available exam resources are allowed when answering this exam. Rules for source referencing are crucial for determining whether the use of resources is permitted.

While you may discuss the exam question with others, your paper must be an independent work.

Guidelines on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in exams

1. The use of artificial intelligence as an aid when answering this exam must comply with UiO’s guidelines for using AI, and ethical issues related to AI use should be considered.
2. AI use must be explained and/or documented. The more AI is used in developing the text, the greater the expectations for documentation and reflection on that use. Text generated by AI tools is not considered (sokogskriv.no) an academic source.
3. Cheating: Use of AI can be considered cheating if, for example, you give a false impression of independence, omit sources, or cite fictitious sources.