Page 12 - 103年度醫學倫理暨人文醫學讀書心得精選集

bioengineering, nanotechnology, genetic engineering,
bioagriculture and imaging technologies are starting to produce.
When the boundaries of “science fiction” and “science” are
getting vague, we seem getting power to change the living
creatures as our willing. However, should we do something just
because we can do it? Who gets access to these technologies,
what people can choose to do with them, how business and
governments around the world promote, regulate, pay for and
prohibit them are among the biggest ethical challenges that
face us in the years to come.

As a doctor, the ethical dilemma I often face was the
balance between quality and quantity of life.Technology has
made it possible for seriously ill people to live far longer than
they used to. But how should quality vs. quantity of life been
weighed? What makes life worth living or who should make
that decision for someone who cannot do so themselves? It is
reflected in different attitudes towards rationing of expensive
medical technologies and the efforts that comparably wealthy
nations are willing to make to try and rescue children born with
severe congenital disabilities or, elderly persons with
demanding illnesses like Alzheimer's. I think the point of
medicine is not to preserve biological life but to restore
fundamental human capacities — cognition, emotion, mobility
and human interactivity.

2 103 醫學倫理、人文醫學、心得