January 10, 2007
Fate of Frozen Embryos Worrying Swiss Bishops
Swiss bishops are asking their federal government to account for the use and fate of frozen embryos. (Zenit)
Monthly Archives: January 2007
January 10, 2007
Schwarzenegger’s Plan for Universal Care Draws No Universal Agreement
When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger took the oath of office last Friday, he called on legislators in Sacramento to set aside party loyalty in favor of “the Party of California.†(New York Times)
January 10, 2007
UK: Nobel scientists urge fertility watchdog to back hybrid embryos
Leading scientists, including three Nobel prizewinners, have called on the Government’s fertility watchdog to back the creation of “human-animal†embryos. (Times)
January 10, 2007
Op-Ed: How About Some Intellectual Honesty?
What would you do if you found out someone had created a company based on technology in your field, but was refusing to produce sample products, earning congratulations and awards from all and sundry, and even taking thousands of dollars … Read More
January 10, 2007
Heroic Treatment for a Medical Hero
In an ironic twist, Dr. Michael DeBakey, the 97 year-old heart surgery pioneer, suddenly developed a dissecting aortic aneurysm last year. Using techniques that DeBakey himself had developed, doctors resuscitated him, against his express written request, and performed a grueling … Read More
January 9, 2007
The Making of an Activist
I am often asked how and why I became an activist on behalf of human exceptionalism. I sure never planned it! Nor, when I began this work, was I aware of the depth and scope of the issues in which … Read More
January 9, 2007
Ashley’s Case: It is Getting Ugly
The never shy Steven Drake has blistered the doctors who performed the surgery on Ashley in an open letter. Here is what he wrote in full: I am writing to you wearing several hats. My first hat is as a … Read More
January 9, 2007
Specter’s Ridiculous “Amen Moment.”
People rightly ridiculed then Senator John Edwards when he claimed that if people voted for Senator John Kerry, “people like [the paralyzed] Christopher Reeve are going to walk, get up out of that wheelchair and walk again.” This was rightly … Read More
January 9, 2007
Ethical Biotechnology Brings Results
Most of biotechnology is ethical, efficacious, and has nothing to do with embryonic stem cell research or human cloning. Here is one such area of beneficial research: Scientists have genetically modified skin, which can be applied when the burns are … Read More
January 9, 2007
Ashley’s Case: Reason for Hope
I have spent the last few days doing a lot of media about Ashley, the disabled little girl subjected to invasive surgeries and hormone injections to keep her small and physically immature. I have been quite heartened that other than … Read More
January 9, 2007
Starving the Elderly: A Sign of the Times?
This story out of the UK is disturbing and a warning about where the “quality of life” ethic can take us. A 91-year old had a stroke. Rather than treat her, her family charges, doctors instead let her lie in … Read More
January 9, 2007
A Marketplace Called Desire
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 9, 2007
Pain Control Doesn’t Kill
This is very good news for dying patients and their families. A new study has been released demonstrating that pain control using opioids (narcotics) in end of life care “poses an extremely small risk of hastened death in this population … Read More
January 9, 2007
UK: IVF overload
Desperate women are flocking to IVF doctors who use high doses of drugs to increase their chances of a baby. But at what price? ( Daily Mail)
January 9, 2007
Switzerland: ‘Assisted suicide’ clinic under scrutiny
A Swiss organisation that says it has helped more than 600 seriously ill people end their lives was in the spotlight yesterday after a newspaper alleged a German woman had suffered severe pain when taking her life at its Zurich … Read More
January 9, 2007
Governor seeks universal health coverage in California
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed extending health care coverage to all of California’s 36 million residents, as part of a sweeping package of changes to the state’s huge, troubled health care system. (International Herald Tribune)
January 9, 2007
Womb transplants may one day be a reality
Current organ donor networks appear able to supply human wombs, or uteruses, for transplantation as a possible approach to treating infertility, researchers report in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology. (Reuters)
January 9, 2007
NPR : Embryo Technology Puts Focus on Ethics
All Things Considered, January 8, 2007 Michele Norris talks with Robin Alta Charo about the ethics of embryo banks. Charo is a professor of law and bioethics at the University of Wisconsin Law School. (NPR)
January 9, 2007
Ethics in research, technology explored
Teaching science isn’t what it used to be — just ask college professors and high school teachers. With continuing advancements in modern medicine and technology, students are being inspired to look beyond the scientific method and question not just how … Read More
January 9, 2007
US stem cell policy news
An Associated Press-AOL News poll has recently indicated that 56 per cent of US adults support relaxing restrictions on using federal money to pay for embryonic stem (ES) cell research. The latest figures come as New Jersey pledges millions to … Read More
January 9, 2007
Health-care spending hits nearly $2 trillion
U.S. spending on health care hit nearly $2 trillion in 2005, fueled by the cost of hospital care, doctor fees and prescription drugs, government experts said in an annual report released on Tuesday. (Reuters)
January 9, 2007
Screen All Pregnancies for Down Syndrome, Doctors Say
For decades, pregnant women 35 and older have routinely been tested for chromosomal abnormalities that might affect their fetus, most notably Down syndrome. Younger women were tested much less often because the risk of birth defects was low and invasive … Read More
January 9, 2007
Picking the Best Embryo from the Bunch
More and more of the thousands of women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) are asking their doctors for preimplantation genetic screening, a special type of embryo testing designed to weed out embryos with abnormal chromosomes. (Technology Review)
January 9, 2007
Democrats press stem cell issue anew
Congress opens a second showdown with President Bush over embryonic stem cells this week, with Democrats now in charge and hoping to push through an expansion of taxpayer-funded research into the controversial cells. (MSNBC)
January 9, 2007
Italian Police Units Inspect Hospitals
Police were inspecting hospitals across Italy on Monday, after a magazine investigation into one of Rome’s largest hospitals showed images of garbage in the corridors, unguarded radioactive material, abandoned medical records and workers smoking next to patients. (AP)
