Case Studies

The following are helpful for introducing real-life ethics situations to students. These case studies are designed for teaching purposes, to help students develop critical responses to ethical issues, taking into account a multitude of viewpoints. Please feel free to use these case studies in your classrooms, or modify as necessary for your purposes. Please give credit where credit is due.

If you would like to contribute your own case studies, or significant revisions to posted cases, please contact the Bioethics Program at hope@iastate.edu The following categories are not mutually exclusive. Case Studies may have more than one area of relevance.

RESOURCES FOR TEACHING CASE STUDIES

The following is a creative component, published with permission, of a Master of Science in Bioethics program graduate.

NATURAL RESOURCE/ENVIRONMENTAL CASE STUDIES

The Lake Bogoria Extremophile
Critical Feed Use on Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Land
What are the advantages and disadvantages to the development of ANWR oil reserves?

 

AGRICULTURE & BIOTECHNOLOGY CASE STUDIES

Food vs. Fuel
Monsanto vs. Schmeiser
Oregon Measure 27: Labeling GM Foods
Labeling Genetically Modified (GM) Foods
Golden Rice

 

ANIMAL CASE STUDIES

California State Proposition 2: Standards for Confining Farm Animals
Cat Cloning
Enviropigs, Long Version
Enviropigs, Short Version
Cloning the Wooly Mammoth?

 

MEDICAL & BIOTECHNOLOGY CASE STUDIES

Stem Cell Research
The Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act (GINA)
Genetic Testing vs. Individual Privacy

*previous case study on stem cell research may still be accessed from: http://www.bioethics.iastate.edu/classroom/stemcells.html

 

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL CASE STUDIES

Fair Trade Coffee: A Case Study Deliberating the Direction of Economics and Policy Impacting Impoverished Production Communities

 

TOPICS AND RESOURCES FOR CASE STUDIES