May 10, 2019
(NPR) – When a health care provider feels they have been forced to do something they disagree with on moral or religious grounds, they can file a complaint with the Department of Health and Human Services. Some high-profile cases have … Read More
March 25, 2019
(BBC) – It might not be the first place you imagine when you think about robots. But in the Renaissance splendour of the Vatican, thousands of miles from Silicon Valley, scientists, ethicists and theologians gather to discuss the future of … Read More
March 22, 2019
(Reuters) – Patients should know if the hospital they choose will restrict their care for religious reasons, but among nearly 650 Catholic hospitals in the U.S., a new study finds that one in five don’t explicitly disclose this information on … Read More
March 7, 2019
(NPR) – Serna says death is usually sanitized, and we try to avoid even talking about it. As a hospital chaplain, he talks about mortality more than most people do. But today, Ash Wednesday, is one of the few days … Read More
February 14, 2019
(Science) – The most widely discussed talk at the Indian Science Congress, a government-funded annual jamboree held in Jalandhar in January, wasn’t about space exploration or information technology, areas in which India has made rapid progress. Instead, the talk celebrated … Read More
November 2, 2018
(U.S. News & World Report) – It’s a generational shift that in many cases flatly rejects convention and tradition and embraces a new conception of the rite: Much like weddings have opted toward personalization of vows, locations and officiants, funerals … Read More
August 8, 2018
(TIME) – When Pope Francis changed the Catholic Church’s position on the death penalty from permitting it in very rare circumstances to now deeming it completely “inadmissible” and violative of the “dignity of the person,” it reflected and reinforced a … Read More
August 7, 2018
(Vox) – What is death, really? Turns out there’s no true consensus among doctors, bioethicists, and philosophers. The way death is determined can even change as you cross state lines. Is it when our brains completely shut down? Is it … Read More
July 11, 2018
(NBC News) – After refusing for more than four years to accept California doctors’ conclusion that her comatose daughter was brain-dead, Nailah Winkfield forcefully told mourners at her daughter’s funeral service last week to stop letting doctors “pull the plug … Read More
June 18, 2018
(Los Angeles Times) – Pope Francis denounced abortion Saturday as the “white glove” equivalent of the Nazi-era eugenics program and urged families to accept the children that God gives them. Francis spoke off-the-cuff to a meeting of an Italian family … Read More
May 14, 2018
(Times of Malta) – The Bill amending the Embryo Protection Act 2012 embodies a philosophy of law that is completely distinct from the philosophy of the original 2012 law. Misleadingly clothed as ‘amendments’ to the 2012 law, the Bill embodies … Read More
May 14, 2018
(CNBC) – Technology and artificial intelligence (AI) are fashioning how people interact with everything from food to healthcare — and so, too, for religion. From electronic scriptures to robot priests, different faiths have absorbed new ideas from the world of … Read More
February 28, 2018
(News.com.au) – IT’S the Nordic island known for it’s stunning scenery and Game of Thrones strongmen. But Iceland is making headlines over controversial medical guidelines that have sparked fears among religious groups and advocates. The country’s leaders are considering a law … Read More
January 23, 2018
(Pew Research Center) – More than four decades after Roe v. Wade legalized abortion nationwide, most Americans (57%) are supportive of legal abortion, according to a 2017 Pew Research Center survey. But a substantial minority (40%) says abortion should be … Read More
January 22, 2018
(BBC) – The Church of England has warned the future existence of people with Down’s Syndrome is “under question”. It has called for expectant mothers to be given “comprehensive, unbiased information” ahead of the NHS roll-out of Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing … Read More
January 10, 2018
(The Globe and Mail) – A publicly funded Catholic health-care network in British Columbia apologized last spring to a secular hospital after it mismanaged part of the transfer of a frail man seeking a physician-assisted death, documents show. In his … Read More
September 27, 2017
(The Conversation) – Today, a primary goal of both movements aimed at care of the dying – palliative care and euthanasia – is to eliminate suffering. These are underpinned by the idea that a good death is a painless death. … Read More
September 22, 2017
(The Atlantic) – Willie Parker is an imposing ob-gyn who has been traveling across the deep South providing abortions since 2012. At times, he has been one of the few providers in the only abortion clinic for hundreds of miles. … Read More
September 18, 2017
(STAT News) – The rapid growth of Catholic-affiliated hospitals in the U.S. could significantly reduce access to inpatient sterilization procedures, according to a new study that examines the rising influence of religion on reproductive health services. The study, published by … Read More
August 7, 2017
(Irish Times) – The Catholic Church in Ireland has voiced its total opposition to the use of embryos in research following a breakthrough study by scientists who “edited” human genomes to remove mutations linked to heart failure. Scientists believe such … Read More
June 30, 2017
(The Globe and Mail) – January 11 was the day my best friend, Beverly, chose for her physician-assisted death. After 18 months of trying to outsmart lung cancer and agreeing to stick around through Christmas, the relief in her voice … Read More
May 31, 2017
(PBS Newshour) – A controversy was brewing. Delmonico, a leading voice on ethical organ transplantation, had planned a February 2017 summit in Rome for representatives of more than 40 countries to discuss the ethics of transplanting organs and to sign … Read More
April 24, 2017
(USA Today) – Increasing fertility options for couples who can’t naturally conceive trigger questions about ethics. About a third of American adults say in vitro fertilization is morally acceptable, according to a Pew Research study. The conditions around IVF, mainly … Read More
April 19, 2017
(The Guardian) – Many transhumanists such as Kurzweil contend that they are carrying on the legacy of the Enlightenment – that theirs is a philosophy grounded in reason and empiricism, even if they do lapse occasionally into metaphysical language about … Read More
March 29, 2017
(The Atlantic) – Conservative Catholics and left-wing feminists often find each other on opposite sides of political debates, especially when it comes to what women should do with their bodies. Yet in Europe, there is a reproductive rights issue on … Read More
