Timeline of Important Historical Events

The following is a simplified timeline of important historical events within the field of bioethics.

4th Century BC:

• Hippocrates: Establishes the Hippocratic Oath, emphasizing patient autonomy and beneficence.

9th Century AD:

• Ishaq bin Ali Rahawi: Writes the “Adab al-Tabib” (Conduct of a Physician), a treatise on medical ethics.

1752:

• Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London: Introduces peer review for scientific papers, promoting ethical research conduct.

19th Century:

• 1846: The American Medical Association (AMA) is founded and establishes a code of ethics for physicians.
• 1876-1957: The Tuskegee Syphilis Study, a landmark case of unethical research, is conducted by the U.S. Public Health Service.
• 1897: The Nuremberg Code, one of the first international documents on research ethics, is developed in response to Nazi medical experimentation.

20th Century:

• 1962: Rachel Carson publishes “Silent Spring,” raising concerns about the environmental impact of pesticides and prompting ethical discussions about scientific advancements.
• 1964: The Declaration of Helsinki is adopted by the World Medical Association, further outlining ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects.
• 1971: The Kennedy Institute of Ethics is established at Georgetown University, marking the beginning of bioethics as a distinct academic field.
• 1979: The Belmont Report, published by the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research, establishes three foundational ethical principles for research involving human subjects: respect for persons, beneficence, and justice.
• 1990: The Human Genome Project is launched, raising ethical questions about genetic testing, privacy, and discrimination.
• 2003: The Human Cloning Ban Act is passed in the United States, prohibiting the creation of human embryos for cloning purposes.

21st Century:

• 2009: The World Health Organization publishes the International Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights, a global framework for ethical principles in biomedicine.
• 2015: The CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology is developed, raising new ethical concerns about the potential for its misuse.
• 2020: The COVID-19 pandemic brings ethical issues such as vaccine distribution, resource allocation, and public health measures to the forefront of global discussion.

SOURCES:

• Resnik, D. B., & Hofweber, F. W. (2018). Research ethics timeline. National Institutes of Health. Retrieved from https://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/resources/bioethics/timeline/index.cfm
• Timeline of Landmark events in the Evolution of bioethics. (2021, June). Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. Retrieved from https://www.usuhs.edu/military-readiness/history
• The Rise of Bioethics: A Historical Overview – Rethinking Health Care Ethics – NCBI. (n.d.). National Institutes of Health (.gov). Retrieved December 8, 2023, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK543570/