But Abdool's role is one that's becoming more important as our medical technologies improve. Bioethicists deal with questions like whether stem cell research is ethical and just how much of our growing arsenal of medical treatments should be administered to a patient.
Although it's a job that may seem obscure to many of us, the issues he deals with are big ones for society to grapple with, often commanding headlines. The most recent example involves sextuplets born to a Jehovah's Witness couple in British Columbia. The bioethical discussion was fierce after the government seized three of the newborns for blood transfusions -- something that violates the tenants of their parents' religion.
There is also the case of Terri Schiavo, dominating headlines in March 2005. Schiavo had been in a persistent vegetative state for years. A battle between her husband, who wanted her feeding tube removed, and her parents, who wanted her to live on, erupted, involving decisions by U.S. legislatures and courts, and plenty of airtime.
The fact these issues command so much of our attention points to how important, and complex Abdool's job is. Bioethicists fit into growing concerns about pandemic illnesses, too, helping to figure out just how to allocate limited resources.
A doctor's job is stressful enough without the responsibility of making such decisions. And often, these ethical decisions are ones doctors simply aren't equipped to make. Like a doctor, Abdool makes life and death decisions regularly. Like a doctor, he often makes them within minutes. And not unlike a doctor, Abdool, the city's only bioethicist, is on call 24/7.
Bioethicist plays necessary role
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Faith-based initiatives. Intelligent design. Gay marriage. Terri Schiavo.
Alarmed by what they see as religious groups' growing influence on government policy, a consortium has launched a public awareness campaign to defend the First Amendment's vow that ``Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.''
``That cherished freedom is under severe attack,'' the Rev. Welton Gaddy said before an audience of about 700 people in San Jose. Friday's Commonwealth Club of California meeting also included an appearance by journalist Walter Cronkite, who endorsed the new national campaign called First Amendment First.
Group takes on religion, state ties... WALTER CRONKITE, CHURCH LEADERS ATTEND S.J. EVENT
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