while academic bioethics began in the mid-1980s. during this period, unique philosophical discussions on brain death and disability appeared both in the academy and journalism. in chinese culture and bioethics, there is not as much of an emphasis on autonomy as opposed to the heavy emphasis placed on autonomy in western bioethics. community, social values, and family are all heavily valued in chinese culture, and contribute to the lack of emphasis on autonomy in chinese bioethics. the chinese believe that the family, community, and individual are all interdependent of each other, so it is common for the family unit to collectively make decisions regarding healthcare and medical decisions for a loved one, instead of an individual making an independent decision for his or her self. some argue that spirituality and understanding one another as spiritual beings and moral agents is an important aspect of bioethics and that spirituality and bioethics are heavily intertwined with one another. as a healthcare provider, it is important to know and understand varying world views and religious beliefs. having this knowledge and understanding can empower healthcare providers with the ability to better treat and serve their patients. developing a connection and understanding of a patient's moral agent helps enhance the care provided to the patient. without this connection or understanding, patients can be at risk of becoming "faceless units of work" and being looked at as a "set of medical conditions" as opposed to the storied and spiritual beings that they are. islamic bioethics bioethics in the realm of islam differs from western bioethics, but they share some similar perspectives viewpoints as well. western bioethics is focused on rights, especially individual rights. islamic bioethics focuses more on religious duties and obligations, such as seeking treatment and preserving life. islamic bioethics is heavily influenced and connected to the teachings of the qur'an as well as the teachings of prophet muhammad. these influences essentially make it an extension of shariah or islamic law. in islamic bioethics, passages from the qur'an are often used to validate various medical practices. for example, a passage from the qur'an states "whosoever killeth a human being ... it shall be as if he had killed all humankind, and whosoever saveth the life of one, it shall be as if he saved the life of all humankind." this excerpt can be used to encourage using medicine and medical practices to save lives, but can also be looked at as a protest against euthanasia and assisted suicide. a high value and worth are placed on human life in islam, and in turn, human life is deeply valued in the practice of islamic bioethics as well. muslims believe all human life, even one of poor quality, needs to be given appreciation and must be cared for and conserved. the islamic education on sensible problems associated to existence in normal and human lifestyles in unique can be sought in islamic bioethics. as we will see later, due to the fact of interconnectedness of the islamic regulation and the islamic ethics, the islamic bioethics has to reflect onconsideration on necessities of the islamic regulation (shari‘ah) in addition to ethical considerations. to react to new technological and medical advancements, informed islamic jurists regularly will hold conferences to discuss new bioethical issues and come to an agreement on where they stand on the issue from an islamic perspective. this allows islamic bioethics to stay pliable and responsive to new advancements in medicine. the standpoints taken by islamic jurists on bioethical issues are not always unanimous decisions and at times may differ. there is much diversity among muslims varying from country to country, and the different degrees to which they adhere by shariah. differences and disagreements in regards to jurisprudence, theology, and ethics between the two main branches of islam, sunni, and shia, lead to differences in the methods and ways in which islamic bioethics is practiced throughout the islamic world. an area where there is a lack of consensus is brain death. the organization of islamic conferences islamic fiqh academy (oic-ifa) holds the view that brain death is equivalent to cardiopulmonary death, and acknowledges brain death in an individual as the individual being deceased. on the contrary, the islamic organization of medical sciences (ioms) states that brain death is an "intermediate state between life and death" and does not acknowledge a brain dead individual as being deceased. islamic bioethicists look to the qur'an and religious leaders regarding their outlook on reproduction and abortion. it is firmly believed that the reproduction of a human child can only be proper and legitimate via marriage. this does not mean that a child can only be reproduced via sexual intercourse between a married couple, but that the only proper and legitimate way to have a child is when it is an act between husband and wife. it is okay for a married couple to have a child artificially and from techniques using modern biotechnology as opposed to sexual intercourse, but to do this out of the context of marriage would be deemed immoral. islamic bioethics is strongly against abortion and strictly prohibits it. the ioms states that "from the moment a zygote settles inside a woman's body, it deserves a unanimously recognized degree of respect." abortion may only be permitted in unique situations where it is considered to be the "lesser evil". islamic bioethics may be used to find advice on practical matters relating to life in general and human life in particular. as we will see later, islamic bioethics must take into account both moral concerns and the requirements of the islamic law (shari'ah) due to the interdependence of islamic law and islamic ethics. in order to avoid making a mistake, everything must be thoroughly examined, first against moral criteria and then against legal ones. it appears that many writers on islamic bioethics have failed to distinguish between the two. despite the fact that islamic law and morality are completely in agreement with one another, they may have distinct prescriptions because of their diverse ends and objectives. one distinction, for instance, is that islamic ethics seeks to teach those with higher desires how to become more perfect and closer to god, but islamic law seeks to decrease criteria for perfection or pleasure in both realms that are doable for the average or even lower than average. so whatever is deemed essential or required by islamic law is undoubtedly viewed the same way by islamic ethics. however, there may be situations where something is not against islamic law but is nonetheless condemned by islamic ethics. or there can be circumstances that, while not required by islamic law, are essential from an ethical standpoint. for instance, while idle conversation is not strictly forbidden by islamic law, it is morally unacceptable since it wastes time and is detrimental to one's spiritual growth. the night prayers are another illustration (which should be performed after midnight and before dawn). islamic bioethics's first influences islamic bioethics is founded on the qur'an, the sunnah, and reason (al-'aql), much like any other inquiry into islam. sunni muslims may use terms like ijmaa' (consensus) and qiyas in place of reason (analogy). ijmaa' and qiyas as such are not recognized by shi'a since they are insufficient proofs on their own. christian bioethics in christian bioethics it is noted that the bible, especially the new testament, teaches about healing by faith. healing in the bible is often associated with the ministry of specific individuals including elijah, jesus and paul. the largest group of miracles mentioned in the new testament involves cures, the gospels give varying amounts of detail for each episode, sometimes jesus cures simply by saying a few words, at other times, he employs material such as spit and mud. christian physician reginald b. cherry views faith healing as a pathway of healing in which god uses both the natural and the supernatural to heal. being healed has been described as a privilege of accepting christ's redemption on the cross. pentecostal writer wilfred graves jr. views the healing of the body as a physical expression of salvation. matthew 8:17, after describing jesus exorcising at sunset and healing all of the sick who were brought to him, quotes these miracles as a fulfillment of the prophecy in isaiah 53:5: "he took up our infirmities and carried our diseases". jesus endorsed the use of the medical assistance of the time (medicines of oil and wine) when he told the parable of the good samaritan (luke 10:25–37), who "bound up wounds, pouring on oil and wine" (verse 34) as a physician would. jesus then told the doubting teacher of the law (who had elicited this parable by his self-justifying question, "and who is my neighbor?" in verse 29) to "go, and do likewise" in loving others with whom he would never ordinarily associate (verse 37). the principle of the sacredness of human life is at the basis of catholic bioethics. on the subject of abortion, for example, catholics and orthodox are on very similar positions. catholic bioethics insists on this concept, without exception, while anglicans, waldensians and lutherans have positions closer to secular ones, for example with regard to the end of life. in 1936, ludwig bieler argued that jesus was stylized in the new testament in the image of the "divine man" (greek: theios aner), which was widespread in antiquity. it is said that many of the famous rulers and elders of the time had divine healing powers. contemporary bioethical and health care policy issues, including abortion, the distribution of limited resources, the nature of appropriate hospital chaplaincy, fetal experimentation, the use of fetal tissue in treatment, genetic engineering, the use of critical care units, distinctions between ordinary and extraordinary treatment, euthanasia, free and informed consent, competency determinations, the meaning of life, will be examined within the framework of traditional christian moral commitments. feminist bioethics feminist bioethics critiques the fields of bioethics and medicine for its lack of inclusion of women's and other marginalized group's perspectives. this lack of perspective from women is thought to create power imbalances that favor men. these power imbalances are theorized to be created from the androcentric nature of medicine. one example of a lack of consideration of women is in clinical drug trials that exclude women due to hormonal fluctuations and possible future birth defects. this has led to a gap in the research on how pharmaceuticals can affect women. feminist bioethicists call for the necessity of feminist approaches to bioethics because the lack of diverse perspectives in bioethics and medicine can cause preventable harm to already vulnerable groups. this study first gained prevalence in the field of reproductive medicine as it was viewed as a "woman's issue". since then, feminist approaches to bioethics has expanded to include bioethical topics in mental health, disability advocacy, healthcare accessibility, and pharmaceuticals. lindemann notes the need for the future agenda of feminist approaches to bioethics to expand further to include healthcare organizational ethics, genetics, stem cell research, and more. notable figures in feminist bioethics include carol gilligan, susan sherwin, and the creators of the international journal of feminist approaches to bioethics, mary c. rawlinson and anne donchin. sherwin's book no longer patient: feminist ethics in health care (1992) is credited with being one of the first full-length books published on the topic of feminist bioethics and points out the shortcomings in then-current bioethical theories. sherwin's viewpoint incorporates models of oppression within healthcare that intend to further marginalize women, people of color, immigrants, and people with disabilities. since created in 1992, the international journal of feminist approaches to bioethics has done much work to legitimize feminist work and theory in bioethics. by pointing out the male marking of its purportedly generic human subject and the fact that the tradition does not see women's rights as human rights, feminist bioethics challenges bioethics. this article explores how the other gender becomes mute and invisible as a result of this unseen gendering of the universal. it demonstrates how the dehumanization of "man" is a root cause of illness on a social and personal level. finally, it makes many recommendations for how representations of women's experience and bodies could help to constructively reconsider fundamental ethical principles. environmental bioethics bioethics, the ethics of the life sciences in general, expanded from the encounter between experts in