April 3, 2024
(Vox) – This is unquestionably good news for Slayman, and while routine pig kidney transplants are still a few years off, it’s obviously good for people with kidney failure to have more options. We shouldn’t let the news distract us, … Read More
April 1, 2024
(Wired) – Effective altruism pitches itself as a hyperrational method of using any resource for the maximum good of the world. Here in Silicon Valley, EA has become a secular religion of the elites. Effective altruists filled the board of … Read More
April 1, 2024
(Chicago Sun Times) – The coalition says it advocates for “medical aid in dying and not assisted suicide, as it is commonly known.” This is simply a language game. “Medical aid” sounds a lot more attractive than “suicide,” but the … Read More
March 28, 2024
(Wall Street Journal) – We drained our savings for the $27,000 IVF package, which included four potential rounds, and prayerfully signed on the dotted line. I couldn’t stop imagining a newborn in my arms, even as I wondered if IVF … Read More
March 22, 2024
(The Conversation) – Tattoos are an incredibly common form of permanent self-expression that date back thousands of years. Most tattoo artists follow strict health and sanitation regulations, so you might assume that tattoo inks are carefully regulated, too. But as … Read More
March 22, 2024
(First Things) – If Big Tech companies have observed anything about human nature in their rise to economic, political, and cultural dominance, it is that Homo sapiens prefer artificial, digital experiences to the places and relationships their bodies actually inhabit. … Read More
March 21, 2024
(The Atlantic) – Four years ago, the country was brought to its knees by a world-historic disaster. COVID-19 hospitalized nearly 7 million Americans and killed more than a million; it’s still killing hundreds each week. It shut down schools and … Read More
March 19, 2024
(The New Atlantis) – Having twins, I didn’t get the low-risk home birth with a midwife I’d dreamed of in my youth. My pregnancy was medically managed from beginning to end. But I did go deep into myself, suffer something … Read More
March 15, 2024
(New York Times) – Should your insurance company be allowed to stop you from getting a treatment — even if your doctor says it’s necessary? Doctors are often required to get insurance permission before providing medical care. This process is … Read More
March 15, 2024
(The Atlantic) – The court had heard a complicated civil case touching on questions about the rights of families undergoing in vitro fertilization and the responsibilities of the fertility industry—questions that have long been neglected, to the great detriment of … Read More
March 14, 2024
(The Conversation) – I’m a cultural anthropologist who studies the ways feelings and beliefs circulate in American society. To investigate what’s behind mothers’ vaccine skepticism, I interviewed vaccine-skeptical mothers about their perceptions of existing and novel vaccines. What they told … Read More
March 8, 2024
(Chicago Tribune) – For that reason, and others, we believe that Illinois should not pass this legislation and join the 11 jurisdictions (California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Montana, Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont and Washington) that have … Read More
March 7, 2024
(The Conversation) – Mental health problems among young people are on the rise. An especially stark finding of the report is that 20 years ago, this age group was the least likely to have a common mental disorder. The big … Read More
March 6, 2024
(STAT News) – People often ask: How much should guidance be based on evidence versus what the public is willing to do? But that’s the wrong way to think about it. Instead, those in charge of public health guidance should … Read More
March 1, 2024
(The Atlantic) – In New York, where I live, notices linger in the doorways of apartment buildings and stores. A colleague in Woburn, Massachusetts, sent me a photo of a sign reminding park-goers to gather in groups of 10 or … Read More
February 28, 2024
(STAT News) – The main objective of palliative care is to maximize the patient’s comfort and quality of life by effectively controlling symptoms, especially pain, while providing psychological and spiritual support. Palliative care is gaining traction in the United States … Read More
February 26, 2024
(Chicago Sun Times) – Right now, those of us with disabilities are facing a significant battle: the defeat of a growing movement that wants to make physician-assisted suicide legal in Illinois. This fight is one with the goal to, literally, … Read More
February 19, 2024
(STAT News) – While we wait for more data to clarify the relationship between GLP-1s and mental health, it is crucial for endocrinologists — who prescribe most of these drugs — and psychiatrists to work together to address the tangled … Read More
February 15, 2024
(New York Times) – My column about the experience was probably the most consequential thing I’ll ever write — both in terms of the attention it got (wall-to-wall news coverage, mentions in congressional hearings, even a craft beer named Sydney … Read More
February 14, 2024
(The Atlantic) – Death reminds us of the limits of romantic love, but it also sets romantic love free. It allows love to take its place alongside other goods, some that last and others that are fleeting. Death brings a … Read More
February 12, 2024
(Newsweek via MSN) – A confession: Initially, I welcomed the idea of assisted dying, believing it could be a humane choice for those at the late stages of irreversible illnesses to make choices on their own behalf. However, my growing … Read More
February 9, 2024
(STAT News) – Despite considerable progress since 1964, smoking remains a top cause of preventable death in the United States. As Surgeon General David Satcher wrote in a seminal 1998 report, tobacco use is a major cause of disease and death among … Read More
February 9, 2024
(Wired) – Let’s say you read a novel that you really loved, something that inspired you. And only after you were done were you told that the author had not been a human being, but an artificial intelligence system … … Read More
February 6, 2024
(STAT News) – America’s outdated approach to medical device oversight starts with limited testing prior to FDA authorization for the vast majority of marketed devices and ends with patchwork monitoring of patient safety. The tale of Philips Respironics — which … Read More
February 2, 2024
(The Telegraph via MSN) – Last Saturday, an autistic Dutch woman died at home by assisted suicide, with her parents and best friend by her side. Her passing is significant to those far beyond her circle or who followed her … Read More
