As the debate on artificial fertilisation heats up and other issues come to the fore, the University’s Faculty of Theology is on a drive to recruit students to its course leading to a Master’s degree in bioethics.
This is the second time the course is being offered and faculty dean Fr Emmanuel Agius believes people from various professions should take the plunge, particularly as the country moves closer to tackling controversial issues related to biotechnology. There were 26 students in the first course.
“I think it is time for as many people as possible, including MPs, to be well informed about these ethical issues,” he says, referring to IVF, cloning, organ transplantation, embryonic stem cell research, abortion, euthanasia and other issues.
He insists the course does not restrict students to the Church’s doctrine on bioethics but offers the full range of philosophical viewpoints, with Catholic theology as one of the many perspectives.
One of the students who followed the course when it first opened three years ago was Deborah Schembri, the family lawyer turned pro-divorce lobbyist who was later barred from the Church Marriage Tribunal because her statements went against the Church’s law on the indissolubility of marriage.
Fr Agius speaks positively of Dr Schembri’s contributions in class and says the faculty accepted her request for an extension of studies in view of her other commitments, including her participation in the divorce campaign.
He says that when the faculty proposed the launch of this programme, members of the University Senate recommended that the course should be entitled an MA in Christian bioethics. “But this is something I resisted,” he says, adding it is crucial for students to be exposed to all different currents of thought and models of moral reasoning.
The course has so far attracted doctors, nurses, lecturers, lawyers, philosophers and people from other professions. He says this makes for interesting discussions in class where people are encouraged to give their opinions within a solid grounding of the literature and science.
Fr Agius is well-informed about the bioethical trends around the world, particularly in Europe. “Sometimes, we think Europe is simply interested in the euro or economic matters and we hardly know about the bioethical policies and values emerging from the EU and other European institutions like the Council of Europe,” he says, adding that EU directives on biotechnological issues have a direct impact on Malta.
The government and Parliament’s Social Affairs Committee often seek the guidance of Fr Agius who is particularly passionate about human rights and dignity and ensuring decisions are taken based on ethics and conscience.
He was recently invited by the Council of Europe to deliver a keynote speech on advanced directives: the rights of patients to be part of the decision making process about their treatment, even when they are no longer conscious.
“When we had science without conscience, we saw the disasters of nuclear and atomic technology. Scientists, then, thought ethics was not important to enlighten their decisions. I think we must not repeat these mistakes and we should tackle bioethical issues in the light of human values,” he says.
He wonders why Malta has so far resisted signing the Council of Europe’s Oviedo Convention.
Signed by most European states, the convention sets out the fundamental principles applicable in day-to-day medicine and those applicable to new technologies in human biology and medicine.
“Biotechnology and science should be of service to humanity, to improve human life. Ethics and conscience are important to make the best of science,” he says, speaking about the importance of the precautionary principle.
The Masters in bioethics is a three-year evening course. For more information visit www.um.edu.mt/theology/bioethics.
Other courses offered by the faculty lead to a BA honours evening course in theology and to an MA in spirituality and spiritual companionship.