April 13, 2009
Recently, I learned that Sweden is struggling with an important question: who should be trained as a physician? One particular student focuses this discussion. Karl Helge Hampus Svensson was banished a year ago from Sweden’s premier Karolinska Institute on the … Read More
April 9, 2009
In 1954, Joseph Fletcher, father of “Situational Ethics†wrote, “[W]e shall attempt, as reasonably as may be, to plead the ethical case for our human rights (certain conditions being satisfied) to use contraceptives, to seek insemination anonymously from a donor, … Read More
March 10, 2009
Abraham Lincoln is reputed to have asked on more than one occasion, “How many legs does a sheep have if you call its tail a leg?†When the respondent replied, “Five,†Honest Abe had a ready correction, something along the … Read More
January 21, 2009
Plans for a registry of egg and sperm donors in Australia has Dr. Joel Bernstein, a fertility specialist in Sydney, worried: “It could turn responsible reproduction into irresponsible reproduction,” he has said. (“Register ‘threatens’ fertility programs”) Dr. Bernstein is concerned … Read More
October 22, 2008
Ever since the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 was passed, we have become accustomed to far more forms and red tape than ever before in hospitals and physicians’ offices. With the institution of the Privacy Rule, … Read More
September 17, 2008
Peter A. Lawler, Ph.D., is Dana Professor and Chair of the Department of Government and International Studies at Berry College, in Georgia, and a member of the President’s Council on Bioethics. D. Joy Riley, M.D., M.A., is Executive Director of … Read More
August 15, 2008
A poignant exploration of what it means to be a donor-conceived child. “Who Am I?” (Video from YouTube)
July 31, 2008
An Interview by D. Joy Riley, M.D., M.A. Dr. Peter A. Lawler, Ph.D., is Dana Professor and Chair of the Department of Government and International Studies at Berry College, in Georgia, and a member of the President’s Council on Bioethics … Read More
June 12, 2008
A video that explores the questions “What does it mean to be human? Who decides?” Produced by The Tennessee Center for Bioethics & Culture. Who’s Who?
April 18, 2008
Recently a baby with two faces – two pairs of eyes; two pairs of lips, two noses and one pair of ears – was born in India. Were they devastated? No. Indeed, the female infant, Lali, is seen as being … Read More
December 27, 2007
Recent stem cell research advances, heralded as great news by a number of people, have not included the terms “clones” or “embryos.” The primary goal for stem cell research, aside from Nobel prizes, patents and off-the-scale profits, has been therapeutic … Read More
December 17, 2007
November 27, 2007
With three swabs from as many cheeks, he places his check alongside, and pays the postal clerk the required amount to transport the small packets from California to Sorenson Genomics. According to their slogan, that’s what one does “For questions … Read More
November 14, 2007
What do Chuck Colson, Brandon Keim, and Carl Zimmer have in common? They each had much to say on 13 November 2007 about humans and animals, although with very divergent opinions. Some might call this “being unequally yoked.†Colson, in … Read More
October 17, 2007
In June of this year, reptile expert Brady Barr, his partner for the job, and a film crew were in an Indonesian cave, where they found a Giant Python. They were in waist-deep muddy liquid when Barr’s partner, Dr. Mark … Read More
October 10, 2007
Just a few days ago, I was in an eastern European country for a medical conference. On the last day of my visit, one of my hosts took me to a monument near the capital city. The monument covered perhaps … Read More
September 10, 2007
In May of this year, China published an extensive set of rules regulating human organ donation. According to a China Daily article (“Rules banning human organs trade go into effect“), “The regulations stipulate that human organ transplants should respect the … Read More
September 9, 2007
A few mornings ago I harvested a ripe red tomato — off my neighbors’ vine. It was on our side of the fence, beckoning me. I did not presume consent, however; my neighbors had told us a few days ago … Read More
August 10, 2007
A debate regarding organ donation is getting underway in the UK: it is a debate about “presumed consent.†Presumed consent means that although no permission form is signed, and there is no documented mandated discussion with anyone, a deceased person’s … Read More
July 19, 2007
In our visual age, saturated with videos, movies, and their pretense of reality, Christina Bieber Lake would have us dust off the tomes on our shelves and sit down to read. Dr. Bieber Lake spoke on 13 July 2007, at … Read More
July 14, 2007
“Bioethics of the 20th century pales in comparison with the spectre of bioethics in the 21st century,” declared Nigel M. de S. Cameron, Ph.D., as he opened the 14th Annual CBHD conference, entitled Bioethics Nexus. With a view to the … Read More
June 7, 2007
On 6 June 2007, the House of Representatives voted on HR 2560, a “bill to ban reproductive cloning.†Of those voting, 190 of the 221 Democrats, and 14 of 196 Republicans voted for it, resulting in a rejection of the … Read More
May 20, 2007
In her article, “EXTRA: Controversial conception” Alexandra Hackett describes human egg donation, and briefly details the experiences of two women: Kelli, an egg donor, and “Jane,†a mother through egg donation. Throughout the article, one can recognize threads of secrecy, … Read More
January 9, 2007
In an ABC News Now video on January 8, 2007 (transcript), Jennalee Ryan describes her work at the Abraham Center of Life as “ethical†and “very moral.†The Abraham Center of Life is an embryo bank, where prospective parents, for … Read More
January 3, 2007
In campaign commercials in 2006, Democrats and some Republicans boasted of their support for embryonic stem cell research as a way to find treatments for a wide range of diseases. Advocates of such research say that, despite gains in the … Read More
