Which term refers to the study of ethics related to issues that arise in health care?

• A. Gene therapy
• B. Bioethics
• C. Genetic engineering
• D. Evolution

Answer: (B)

Ethics in health care examines how moral values guide decisions about patient care, consent, privacy, and fair access to medical resources. The term for studying these issues is bioethics. It explores questions like whether patients should have autonomy to accept or refuse treatment, how informed consent should be obtained, how to protect patient confidentiality, and how to allocate limited medical resources fairly. Bioethics sits at the crossroads of medicine, philosophy, law, and public policy, helping clinicians, researchers, and policymakers make principled choices in real-world situations.

The other terms refer to biological techniques or concepts rather than ethics. Gene therapy is about using new genes to treat or prevent disease. Genetic engineering involves altering organisms’ genetic material to achieve desired traits. Evolution describes how populations change over time through shifts in gene frequencies.