The aim of the study was evaluation of the opinion of medical students on selected
controversial medical ethics problems like abortion, contraceptives usage, euthanasia, cloning,
tissue and organ transplantations, prenatal testing as well as gen engineering. One hundred
seventy students (61 men and 109 women) of the 5th year of the Medical Faculty of the
Medical University in Łódź took part in the study. Besides answering questions on the above
mentioned issues, the students could indicate on specific restrictions or conditions under which the discussed problems might be morally and legally acceptable. Abortion without any
restrictions was allowed in the opinion of 22% of the students who answered this question,
while abortion under some conditions like threatening of mother’s life or health, serious
genetic defects or malformations of a fetus, pregnancy in a raped woman, incestuous
pregnancy, and difficult social or financial situation of a woman/family were accepted in total
by 57.1% of the group. Contraceptives usage was accepted by 98.2% of the investigated
medical students, of which 94.6% do not restrict this issue, while 3.6% of the group exclude
“early abortion” contraceptives. Among medical students, 98.8% have no objections for
prenatal testing. Euthanasia is acceptable by 47.9% of the investigated group. Cloning without
any restrictions would be permitted by 7.5% of the medical students, although 52.5% would
allow cloning of cells, tissue and organs, pointing out on cloning of a whole human being
as unacceptable. In the investigated group, 91.7% do not see problems with gen engineering
applied for medical purposes. Organ transplantations from the persons who suddenly died,
usually in an accident, is acceptable by 97.6% of the students, while tissue or organ
transplants from spontaneously aborted fetuses would be allowed only by 43.5% of the group-
The selected problems mentioned above are discussed, and the data are compared with some
other similar studies performed both in Poland and all over the world on medical students,
medical residents and staff as well as on professionals and students of other faculties.Zadanie pt. „Digitalizacja i udostępnienie w Cyfrowym Repozytorium Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego kolekcji czasopism naukowych wydawanych przez Uniwersytet Łódzki” nr 885/P-DUN/2014 dofinansowane zostało ze środków MNiSW w ramach działalności upowszechniającej naukę