December 4, 2006
The Catholic Church has set off a major row in France by accusing a much-loved medical charity of “eugenics” for helping to fund the screening of human embryos for hereditary diseases. (AFP)
December 4, 2006
Seventeen years ago, Richard Burt, an immunologist at Northwestern University, had a crazy idea. What if he could press the “restart” button on his patients, destroying their faulty immune systems and building them new ones? The regeneration process would be … Read More
December 4, 2006
Two years after California voters authorized $3 billion in bonds to fund stem cell research, the institute created to oversee the enterprise has just begun what experts see as a long and slow scientific journey. Even with the $150-million state … Read More
December 4, 2006
Thousands of women who take high doses of fertility drugs as part of IVF treatment may actually be harming their chances of ever having a baby, doctors are warning. (Telegraph)
December 4, 2006
A recent report from the UK’s Nuffield Council on Bioethics, Critical care decisions in fetal and neonatal medicine: ethical issues, concludes that “there are some circumstances in which imposing or continuing treatments to sustain a newborn baby’s life results in … Read More
December 4, 2006
Candidates who promised to advance stem cell research fared well in last month’s elections. Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said that stem cell therapy has “the biblical power to cure,” and others have touted public funding for stem cell … Read More
December 3, 2006
I love it when those who think they are smarter than the great unwashed, who at least believe in something rather than nothing, presume to talk down their noses–but are the ones who actually get it wrong. Atheist crusader, Sam … Read More
December 3, 2006
Jim Wilson’s 2 December 2006, New York Times article, “Supporting Boys or Girls When the Line Isn’t Clear,†describes the difficulty of rearing children who struggle with gender identity. Two differing views of how to deal with this are presented, … Read More
December 3, 2006
I love it when those who think they are smarter than the great unwashed, who at least believe in something rather than nothing, presume to talk down their noses–but are the ones who actually get it wrong. Atheist crusader, Sam … Read More
December 2, 2006
A broad based coalition of disability rights activists, pro lifers, and family members of ill patients are planning to pressure the Texas Legislature to change its ridiculous futile care law that permits hospital ethics committees to refuse wanted life-sustaining treatment. … Read More
December 2, 2006
Human exceptionalism seems so self evident to me that I am somewhat nonplussed that it is even considered debatable. Yet, a growing chorus adamantly deny that humans are entitled to a special status. But many would-be exceptionalism debunkers seem to … Read More
December 1, 2006
A reader of my recent article in National Review Online about Peter Singer’s approval of research conducted on monkeys, misunderstood me as perhaps not caring about cruelty to animals. I care very much about such matters, of course, and mentioned … Read More
December 1, 2006
In this episode we begin a series of occasional columns on Neuroethics. Brought to us courtesy of Ethics & Medicine, an International Journal of Bioethics, the column “Grey Matters†is written by neurologist William P. Cheshire, M.D. In this first … Read More
December 1, 2006
And those advances keep coming in from all directions: The BBC is reporting that within three years or so, a patient’s own adult stem cells may be able to relieve back pain caused by damage to intervertebral discs (IVDs, a … Read More
December 1, 2006
The study authors believe that this method of improving communication between doctors and family members and patients can be extended to other areas of medical care. (HealthDay)
December 1, 2006
EARLIER this month Australia’s Senate gave the green light to therapeutic cloning. This week the debate switched to the House of Representatives, as opponents dug in for the last battle in their long-running campaign against the laboratory technique, a research … Read More
December 1, 2006
nfertility – not assimilation or inadequate education – is perhaps the biggest obstacle to Jewish continuity, suggests Rabbi Elliot Dorff, rector and professor of philosophy at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles. (Cleveland Jewish News)
December 1, 2006
The state Senate approved bills Thursday designed to encourage the creation of a network of stem cell banks for umbilical cords and adult stem cells, but Republicans rejected Democratic efforts to also lift restrictions on embryonic stem cell research in … Read More
December 1, 2006
The government intends to start drafting legislation on surrogate birth and other types of assisted reproductive technology (ART), according to sources. (The Daily Yomiuri)
December 1, 2006
A patient’s own stem cells could soon be used to cure chronic back pain, say researchers. The team from the University of Manchester hope their treatment will be available within three years. (BBC)
December 1, 2006
David–who wants to conceal his surname–is one of a small but growing minority of single men who are choosing to bypass relationships altogether and pursue fatherhood through surrogacy. Not traditional surrogacy but ‘host’ or ‘gestational’ surrogacy–there’s a big difference. While … Read More
December 1, 2006
The AIDS epidemic is described by the United Nations as the “most destructive in human history” and accounting for more than 25 million deaths so far. Leaders of rich and poor nations should be commended for applying their citizens’ largesse … Read More
December 1, 2006
With ceremonies across the globe and the display of the AIDS Memorial Quilt in the USA, World AIDS Day is being marked around the world today. (USA Today)
