January 1, 2024
Public Policy
December 28, 2023
Death by Doctor May Soon Be Available for the Mentally Ill in Canada
(New York Times) – Canada already has one of the most liberal assisted death laws in the world, offering the practice to terminally and chronically ill Canadians. But under a law scheduled to take effect in March assisted dying would … Read More
December 26, 2023
‘Jane Roe’ Is Anonymous No More. The Very Public Fight Against Abortion Bans in 2023
(NPR) – As 2023 comes to a close, so too does the first full year of the post-Roe era in America. Some of the year’s developments were expected, like more conservative states enacting abortion restrictions. Others were surprising, like the … Read More
December 22, 2023
The City That’s Trying to Replace Politicians with Computers (It’s Working)
(Wall Street Journal) – In a country with a history of corruption and government inefficiency, Councilman Ramiro Rosário has come up with what he believes is a winning strategy to improve the work of politicians: replace them with computers. The … Read More
December 21, 2023
A New Edition of The New England Journal of Medicine Is Now Available
December 19, 2023
What the New Health Counsels at FTC, DOJ, and HHS Might Do
(STAT News) – The Biden administration hasn’t said much about the three new health care counsels, beyond what’s in the initial press release. That announcement spelled out that the new officials will work on two specific areas: investigating private equity’s … Read More
December 19, 2023
A New Edition of Clinical Ethics Is Now Available
December 15, 2023
Millions of Dollars Flow From Pharma to Patient Advocacy Groups
(KFF Health News) – Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy nonprofit, reports today that between 2010 and 2022, the drug industry’s main lobbying group and member companies provided at least $6 billion in grants to more than 20,000 organizations. The analysis, … Read More
December 15, 2023
Healthcare Providers to Join US Plan to Manage AI Risks — White House
(Reuters) – Twenty-eight healthcare companies, including CVS Health, are signing U.S. President Joe Biden’s voluntary commitments aimed at ensuring the safe development of artificial intelligence (AI), a White House official said on Thursday. The commitments by healthcare providers and payers … Read More
December 15, 2023
How the FDA Could Boost Gender-Affirming Care
(Axios) – For years, transgender patients have received hormone therapies “off label” — a common medical practice in which doctors prescribe treatments for a use the agency hasn’t approved. A small nonprofit formed this year with the goal of obtaining … Read More
December 14, 2023
Supreme Court Abortion Pill Case Puts FDA Drug Review Power at Risk
(Axios) – The Supreme Court’s decision to review the availability of a commonly used abortion pill doesn’t just open another chapter in the nation’s abortion wars — it’s also a direct challenge to the Food and Drug Administration’s power to … Read More
December 13, 2023
Supreme Court Will Decide Abortion Pill Access
(STAT News) – The Supreme Court agreed Wednesday to take on whether Americans can access a commonly used abortion pill. It will be the court’s first major abortion case since it overturned Roe v. Wade last year, giving jurisdiction over … Read More
December 12, 2023
The Dangers of Carrying a Child for Someone Else in China
(The Economist) – FAKE BIRTH certificates have long been a hot (if niche) commodity in China. In past decades couples would seek them out in order to get around the one-child policy. They could legally have two children if they … Read More
December 11, 2023
There’s a Big Catch in the EU’s Landmark New AI Law
(Axios) – The European Union’s comprehensive AI regulations, finalized Friday after a 36-hour negotiating marathon, come with a catch: The EU is stuck in a legal void until 2025, when the rules come into force. Why it matters: As the … Read More
December 11, 2023
Texas Woman Who Sought Court Permission for Abortion Leaves State for the Procedure, Attorney Says
(Associated Press) – A pregnant Texas woman who was seeking court permission for an abortion in an unprecedented challenge to one of the most restrictive bans in the U.S. could not wait any longer and went to another state, her … Read More
December 7, 2023
A Texas Judge Grants a Pregnant Woman Permission to Get an Abortion Despite the State’s Ban
(Associated Press) – A Texas judge on Thursday gave a pregnant woman whose fetus has a fatal diagnosis permission to get an abortion in an unprecedented challenge over bans that more than a dozen states have enacted since Roe v. … Read More
December 6, 2023
A New Edition of Journal of Bioethical Inquiry Is Now Available
December 5, 2023
Europe’s World-Leading Artificial Intelligence Rules Are Facing a Do-Or-Die Moment
(Associated Press) – Hailed as a world first, European Union artificial intelligence rules are facing a make-or-break moment as negotiators try to hammer out the final details this week — talks complicated by the sudden rise of generative AI that … Read More
December 5, 2023
AI Is Driving Google’s Health Care Business. Washington Doesn’t Know What to Do About It.
(Politico) – Google wants to make your cell phone a “doctor in your pocket” that relies on the company’s artificial intelligence. But first, the tech giant will need to convince skeptical lawmakers and the Biden administration that its health AI … Read More
December 5, 2023
US Supreme Court Torn Over Purdue Pharma Bankruptcy Settlement
(Reuters) – U.S. Supreme Court justices on Monday struggled over whether to approve OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy settlement, voicing concern the deal would shield its wealthy Sackler family owners from lawsuits over their role in a deadly opioid epidemic … Read More
November 28, 2023
Texas Abortion Case Heard Before State’s Highest Court, as More Women Join Lawsuit
(NPR) – On Tuesday, the Texas Supreme Court considered this question: Are the state’s abortion laws harming women when they face pregnancy complications? The case, brought by the Center for Reproductive Rights, has grown to include 22 plaintiffs, including 20 … Read More
November 28, 2023
A New Edition of The American Journal of Bioethics Is Now Available
November 21, 2023
Disabled People Must Work from Home to Do ‘Their Duty’, Says UK Minister
(The Guardian) – People with mobility and mental health problems will be asked to work from home or lose benefits as part of what a UK government minister described today as doing “their duty”. The policy will be set out … Read More
November 16, 2023
Health Insurers Have Been Breaking State Laws for Years
(ProPublica) – Over the last four decades, states have enacted hundreds of laws dictating precisely what insurers must cover so that consumers aren’t driven into debt or forced to go without medicines or procedures. But health plans have violated these … Read More
November 16, 2023
How to Solve America’s Shortage of Primary Care Doctors? Compensation Is Key
(CBS News) – Substantial disparities between what primary care physicians earn relative to specialists like orthopedists and cardiologists can weigh into medical students’ decisions about which field to choose. Plus, the system that Medicare and other health plans use to … Read More
