Bioethics day index
Find an earlier dilemma, revisit the evidence, or prepare for the next debate. This list comes directly from the dated course calendar, so each link opens the lesson students actually see.
The bulletin board posts answers from the preparation assignments without names. Mr. Mendoza picks and posts them by hand, and a student who does not want theirs posted only has to say so.
The debate schedule, all eleven weeks
A John Carroll facilitator runs the debate in Room 381 for the first 40 minutes of the block, and the rest of the period is PLTW work for your unit. Find your period in the column headings: your debate day is in that column. The preparation assignment goes out the Friday before and is the graded piece either way.
| Wk | Case | Prep goes out | Period 6A-7B | Periods 1-2 & 3-4B | Who is running it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Should ELISA testing be mandatory? | Fri, Sep 18 | Mon, Sep 21 | Thu, Sep 24 | To be named |
| 2 | Should we ban antibiotic use in livestock? | Fri, Sep 25 | Mon, Sep 28 | Thu, Oct 1 | To be named |
| 3 | Should we limit antibiotic prescriptions? | Fri, Oct 2 | Mon, Oct 5 | Thu, Oct 8 · John Carroll on break | To be named |
| 4 | Euthanasia to reduce antibiotic use | Thu, Oct 8(moved) | Mon, Oct 12 | Thu, Oct 15 | To be named |
| 5 | Is super hearing good for humanity? | Fri, Oct 16 | Mon, Oct 19 | Thu, Oct 22 | To be named |
| 6 | Cochlear implants before the age of consent | Fri, Oct 23 | Mon, Oct 26 | Thu, Oct 29 | To be named |
| 7 | Two videos: controlling genetics, and what gives life meaning | Fri, Oct 30 | Mon, Nov 2 · No school | Thu, Nov 5 | To be named |
| 8 | Should vaccination be mandatory? | Fri, Nov 6 | Mon, Nov 9 | Thu, Nov 12 | To be named |
| 9 | Prosecuting health misinformation | Fri, Nov 13 | Mon, Nov 16 | Thu, Nov 19 | To be named |
| 10 | Should vaping be labeled unhealthy? | Fri, Nov 20 | Mon, Nov 23 | Thu, Nov 26 · No school | To be named |
| 11 | Genetic Defect Prevention and the Vargo request | Tue, Nov 24(moved) | Mon, Nov 30 | Thu, Dec 3 | To be named |
Sides are assigned at the start of the session, not before. Your prep assignment asks you to build both cases because you will not know which one you are defending until you walk in.
Any student may take this route, for any reason, and you do not have to give one. Tell Mr. Mendoza before the session starts. Deciding on the day is fine. Instead you write a one-page report in APA format that summarizes the issues in the case, plus a second page of citations. The report earns the same credit as taking part in the debate. It is a different route, not a lesser one.
The John Carroll team is named week by week once their roster is set, which Dr. Kaye expects in early September 2026. Their own first day is Aug 27, so "to be named" above means not yet decided, not unknown to us. Shaded rows are weeks a section does not meet. On those weeks the preparation assignment is still the graded piece. Two prep releases moved off a closed Friday: Week 4 goes out Thursday Oct 8, Week 11 goes out Tuesday Nov 24. Curriculum questions go to Dr. Sharon Kaye, John Carroll University.
The spring debate schedule, a draft
These eleven cases and eleven dates are a draft that Mr. Mendoza wrote so the spring semester could be planned. They have not been agreed with Dr. Sharon Kaye, John Carroll University, and the cases are not John Carroll's material the way the fall ones are. Expect the topics and the dates to change. What will not change is the shape: a facilitated debate for the first 40 minutes of the block, a preparation assignment that is the graded piece, and the same opt-out route as the fall.
| Wk | Draft case | Prep goes out | Human Body Systems | Biomedical Innovation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Should medical students learn anatomy on donated human bodies? | Fri, Jan 29 | Mon, Feb 1 | Mon, Feb 1 |
| 2 | Should police be able to search consumer DNA databases? | Fri, Feb 5 | Mon, Feb 8 | Mon, Feb 8 |
| 3 | Should genetic enhancement of muscle be banned in sport? | Fri, Feb 19 | Mon, Feb 22 | Mon, Feb 22 |
| 4 | Should a brain scan be allowed as evidence in a criminal trial? | Fri, Feb 26 | Mon, Mar 1 | Mon, Mar 1 |
| 5 | Should tackle football be allowed before high school? | Fri, Mar 5 | Mon, Mar 8 | Mon, Mar 8 |
| 6 | Should lifestyle affect who receives a donor organ? | Fri, Mar 12 | Mon, Mar 15 | Mon, Mar 15 |
| 7 | Who should pay for a treatment that costs more than a house? | Fri, Mar 19 | Mon, Mar 22 | Mon, Mar 22 |
| 8 | Should insurance cover a prosthetic that does more than restore function? | Thu, Mar 25(moved) | Mon, Apr 5 | Mon, Apr 5 |
| 9 | Is a placebo group fair when a treatment already exists? | Fri, Apr 9 | Mon, Apr 12 | Mon, Apr 12 |
| 10 | Should hospitals be allowed to sell de-identified patient data? | Fri, Apr 23 | Mon, Apr 26 | Mon, Apr 26 |
| 11 | Who owns a medical device invented by a student? | Fri, Apr 30 | Mon, May 3 | Mon, May 3 |
Shaded rows are weeks one class does not meet, because the two courses do not share every Monday in the spring. As drafted that gives Human Body Systems 11 sessions and Biomedical Innovation 11. Week 6's preparation goes out eleven days early, on the last school day before spring break, so put it somewhere you will find it again. Questions about the program go to Dr. Sharon Kaye, John Carroll University.
Principles of Biomedical Technology (Principles of Biomedical Science)
Bioethics of evidence
When should we trust scientific evidence, and who is responsible when it is wrong?
Open this dayEthics of the scene
When does collecting evidence cross the line into destroying it?
Open this dayEthics of testing
How does a hypothesis decide which tests are worth running on evidence you can only use once?
Open this dayEthics of autopsy
When someone dies, who has the right to decide what happens to their body, and what does society lose when that decision is made wrong?
Open this dayJCU bioethics 1: Should ELISA testing be mandatory?
Should ELISA testing for Novel Flu Syndrome be mandatory?
Open this dayEthics of conclusions
How much evidence is enough before you are allowed to name a cause of death?
Open this dayJCU bioethics 2: Should we ban antibiotic use in livestock?
Should we ban antibiotic use in livestock?
Open this dayEthics of privacy
When, if ever, should a single patient's privacy give way to the safety of the whole community?
Open this dayEthics of monitoring
When does collecting more health data actually make a patient healthier, and when does it just make them worried?
Open this dayJCU bioethics 4: Euthanasia to reduce antibiotic use
Should terminally ill patients be offered medical aid in dying in order to decrease antibiotic use?
Open this dayJCU bioethics 5: Is super hearing good for humanity?
Is super hearing, as offered by the Clarity Implant, a net positive for humanity?
Open this dayGenetic testing ethics debate
Who has the right to decide what a family learns about its own genes, and what duties come with that knowledge?
Open this dayJCU bioethics 6: Cochlear implants before the age of consent
Should children reach the age of consent before cochlear implants or other medical interventions are allowed?
Open this dayJCU bioethics 7: Two videos: controlling genetics, and what gives life meaning
Can humans be trusted with control over genetics? And: extinction, or life without culture?
Open this dayJCU bioethics 8: Should vaccination be mandatory?
Should vaccination be mandatory?
Open this dayJCU bioethics 9: Prosecuting health misinformation
Should the government prosecute people for lying about vaccines or other health matters?
Open this dayTriage ethics debate
When there is not enough help to save everyone, who decides who gets it first, and what makes that decision fair?
Open this dayJCU bioethics 11: Genetic Defect Prevention and the Vargo request
Is it ethical to grant the Vargo family their request?
Open this daySurge resource debate
When a health system runs out of room, who decides where the extra help goes, and what should that decision be based on?
Open this dayDrug formulation and pH
How should evidence from Drug formulation and pH change the next biomedical decision, and where must the claim stop?
Open this dayBioprospecting ethics debate
How should evidence from Bioprospecting ethics debate change the next biomedical decision, and where must the claim stop?
Open this dayGenetics of Disease (Medical Interventions)
Bioethics debate: isolation vs autonomy
When does a community's right to be safe outweigh a single person's right to move freely?
Open this dayBioethics debate: who gets the test
When there is not enough of a life-saving test for everyone, who decides who gets it, and what makes that decision fair?
Open this dayBioethics debate: false results
When a medical test can be wrong in two different directions, how do we decide it is still ethical to use?
Open this dayJCU bioethics 1: Should ELISA testing be mandatory?
How should evidence from JCU bioethics 1: Should ELISA testing be mandatory? change the next biomedical decision, and where must the claim stop?
Open this dayBioethics debate: antibiotic stewardship
When a medicine gets weaker every time we use it, who is responsible for using less?
Open this dayJCU bioethics 2: Should we ban antibiotic use in livestock?
Should we ban antibiotic use in livestock?
Open this dayCochlear implant debate
When medicine can change a body, who gets to decide whether that body was broken in the first place?
Open this dayGenetic privacy debate
Who owns the information written in your DNA, and who has the right to read it?
Open this dayJCU bioethics 4: Euthanasia to reduce antibiotic use
Should terminally ill patients be offered medical aid in dying in order to decrease antibiotic use?
Open this dayAccess-to-results debate
Who should get to hold and interpret a person's genetic data, and why does that choice matter?
Open this dayJCU bioethics 5: Is super hearing good for humanity?
Is super hearing, as offered by the Clarity Implant, a net positive for humanity?
Open this dayJCU bioethics 6: Cochlear implants before the age of consent
Should children reach the age of consent before cochlear implants or other medical interventions are allowed?
Open this dayJCU bioethics 7: Two videos: controlling genetics, and what gives life meaning
How should evidence from JCU bioethics 7: Two videos: controlling genetics, and what gives life meaning change the next biomedical decision, and where must the claim stop?
Open this dayScreening equity debate
When a genetic test can save a life, who actually gets to take it, and does that make the test itself unjust?
Open this dayJCU bioethics 8: Should vaccination be mandatory?
Should vaccination be mandatory?
Open this dayTrial-access debate
How should evidence from Trial-access debate change the next biomedical decision, and where must the claim stop?
Open this dayJCU bioethics 9: Prosecuting health misinformation
How should evidence from JCU bioethics 9: Prosecuting health misinformation change the next biomedical decision, and where must the claim stop?
Open this dayOrgan-allocation debate
When there are not enough organs, what makes one patient a more defensible choice than another?
Open this dayEngineered-protein debate
When a technology can save a life, who gets to decide what it costs and who is allowed to have it?
Open this dayJCU bioethics 11: Genetic Defect Prevention and the Vargo request
Is it ethical to grant the Vargo family their request?
Open this dayAllocation debate
How should evidence from Allocation debate change the next biomedical decision, and where must the claim stop?
Open this dayEmerging-tech debate
How should evidence from Emerging-tech debate change the next biomedical decision, and where must the claim stop?
Open this dayHuman Anatomy & Physiology (Human Body Systems)
Bioethics: who owns a body?
When we study real human bodies to advance medicine, whose rights and dignity are at stake, and how do we honor them?
Open this dayBioethics: imaging and privacy
When does the good that comes from studying a real patient outweigh that patient's right to keep their body private?
Open this dayBioethics: bone donation and 3D parts
When a life-changing medical resource is scarce, who gets it first, and who decides?
Open this dayBioethics: performance enhancement
When does the pursuit of a stronger body cross the line into something we should not allow?
Open this dayBioethics: wearable data privacy
Who owns the data your body produces, and what happens when the person paying you wants to see it?
Open this dayBioethics: access to rehab
When healthcare resources are limited, who gets to decide how much recovery a patient is allowed to have?
Open this dayBioethics: brain data and consent
When brain data can reveal what a person is thinking or feeling, who gets to decide how that data is used?
Open this dayBioethics: drugs and driving
When a legal choice slows your body down, who is responsible for what happens next?
Open this dayHormone therapy bioethics debate
When a hormone can change a child's body for life, who gets to decide, and on what grounds?
Open this dayAnimal research ethics debate
When is it justified to use a living animal to answer a human-health question?
Open this dayHeavy-metal exposure debate
When a toxin makes a community sick, who is responsible for finding it, stopping it, and cleaning it up?
Open this dayHeart transplant allocation debate
When there are more patients than there are donor hearts, how should a hospital decide who gets to live?
Open this dayVentilator allocation ethics debate
When there is not enough life support to go around, who decides who breathes, and on what grounds?
Open this dayBiotechnology for Health (Biomedical Innovations)
Speed-vs-equity debate
When a system cannot serve everyone perfectly at once, whose needs do we design for, and how do we defend that choice with evidence?
Open this dayER-ethics debate
When you design a space where people are sick, scared, or dying, whose comfort wins when two good goals collide?
Open this dayInnovation-safety debate
When a new medical device could save lives, how much proof of safety do we owe patients before we let them use it?
Open this dayData-ethics debate
When a scientist collects data from a living human body, what do they owe the person that body belongs to?
Open this dayBiometric-privacy debate
Who owns the story your body tells, and what do researchers owe the people whose data they collect?
Open this dayInnovation debate
How should evidence from Innovation debate change the next biomedical decision, and where must the claim stop?
Open this daySource ethics debate
When two sources disagree, how do you decide which evidence you can actually trust?
Open this dayEnvironmental justice debate
Who should be held responsible when the air a person breathes depends on which neighborhood they can afford to live in?
Open this dayPublic health debate
When an outbreak spreads, who gets to decide how much freedom one person gives up to protect everyone else?
Open this dayRisk communication debate
How do you communicate a real health risk so that people actually change what they do, without lying to them?
Open this dayEngineered organism debate
When a technology can heal one person and endanger another, who decides whether the benefit is worth the risk?
Open this dayBiotech safety debate
When a powerful biology tool is cheap enough for a classroom or a garage, who should decide how carefully it gets used?
Open this dayResearch ethics debate
When your own research could touch a real person, what do you owe them before you begin?
Open this day