This chapter further clarifies the jurisdictions of the bioethics profession by showing that the profession actually has a subsidiary jurisdiction to science and medicine in the research bioethics, health care ethics consultation and public policy bioethics jurisdictions. In research bioethics and health care ethics consultation the profession has the metaphorical role of the watchdog for the values and ethics of science and medicine. While this subordinate jurisdiction is healthy for these two jurisdictions, in damages the standing of bioethicists in the public policy bioethics jurisdiction,...

This chapter further clarifies the jurisdictions of the bioethics profession by showing that the profession actually has a subsidiary jurisdiction to science and medicine in the research bioethics, health care ethics consultation and public policy bioethics jurisdictions. In research bioethics and health care ethics consultation the profession has the metaphorical role of the watchdog for the values and ethics of science and medicine. While this subordinate jurisdiction is healthy for these two jurisdictions, in damages the standing of bioethicists in the public policy bioethics jurisdiction, as it limits the ability of the profession to say “no” to any new technological innovation. The second half of the chapter shows how the profession has never made a clear case for why it should have jurisdiction over public policy bioethics, and argue that the strongest case could be made by arguing for a modified form of common morality principlism.