January 25, 2011
Some Colorado state legislators are proposing to make theirs the first state in which people become organ donors by default. The proposal, introduced in the state Senate last week, would change the process for renewing driver’s licenses and ID cards … Read More
January 25, 2011
Studies in mice have shown that stem cell transplants for fetuses rarely work because they are rejected by the mother’s immune cells present in fetal blood. The finding provides a clear solution: transplant the mother’s own stem cells into the … Read More
January 25, 2011
Is health insurance coverage of infertility treatments an essential benefit to help people manage a medical disorder? Or is it a life-enhancing benefit, nice to have perhaps but not essential because it doesn’t sustain a person’s life? (Washington Post)
January 25, 2011
In Navajo culture, talking about death is thought to bring it about, so it is not discussed. A dead person’s name is never spoken. Only designated tribal members are permitted to touch and bury the dead. (New York Times)
January 25, 2011
April 10-11, 2011 University of Michigan This landmark conference represents the 1st time in the United States that Islamic scholars and religious leaders, social scientists, health professionals, and Muslim community stakeholders are coming together to discuss Islamic law, bioethics, medicine … Read More
January 25, 2011
Seattle, Washington July 22-23, 2011 A distinguished panel of experts will address a range of challenging medical and social issues: * Under what circumstances should individual providers or health care institutions extend medical care to children whose families cannot pay? … Read More
January 25, 2011
The American Journal of Bioethics (Volume 4, Issue 3, December 2010) is now available by subscription only. Articles include: “Freitas on Disease in Nanomedicine: Implications for Ethics” by Vassiliki L. Leontis & George J. Agich, 205-214. “Proposed Strategies for Teaching … Read More
January 24, 2011
The American Journal of Bioethics (Volume 10, Issue 12, 2010) is now available by subscription only. Articles include: “Getting Unstuck: Rubber Bands and Public Health” by Summer McGee, 1 – 2. “Medical Tourism and Bariatric Surgery: More Moral Challenges” by … Read More
January 21, 2011
The New England Journal of Medicine (Volume 363, Issue 25, December 16, 2010) is now available on-line and by subscription only. Articles include: “Health Care Reform — What Went Wrong on the Way to the Courthouse” Mark A. Hall, J.D., … Read More
January 21, 2011
Key words can be powerful in shaping cultural norms, including the norms of sub-cultures that flourish in hospitals and training programs. At the beginning of a large-scale social change, such as the new public prominence of debates over Medicare policy … Read More
January 21, 2011
In Texas, a Catholic bishop made two hospitals cease doing tube-tying operations for women who are not going to have more babies. In Oregon, another bishop cast a medical center out of his diocese for refusing to discontinue the same … Read More
January 21, 2011
Among the many reasons to remember Sargent Shriver–war hero, presidential adviser, Peace Corps founder, vice presidential candidate–there is one that few may know about: pioneer of bioethics. (Science Progress)
January 21, 2011
Most people would agree that when the time comes, they want a “good death.” But what that means is all too often left up in the air until a crisis strikes or the stricken person is no longer able to … Read More
January 21, 2011
Court Honors Signed Agreement With Surrogate Mother in Case of Gay Couple. (ABC News)
January 21, 2011
A secretive group of independent, influential scientists who advise the United States government on science and technology recently released The $100 Genome: Implications for the DoD. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it pays little attention to the larger social and ethical questions raised … Read More
January 21, 2011
THE objectification of women’s bodies and commodification of childbirth came together yesterday in a single antiseptic phrase contained in the announcement of a second child for actress Nicole Kidman and her musician husband Keith Urban. (The Australian)
January 21, 2011
The Royal Society has just put out the first module of its Brain Waves project, which provides a primer on the state of art in neuroscience and how neuroscience intersects with society. The ten essays cover a range of relevant … Read More
January 20, 2011
Journal of Medical Ethics (Volume 37, Number 1, January 1, 2010) is now available by subscription only. Articles include: “Authoritarian Versus Responsive Communitarian Bioethics” by Amitai Etzioni, 17-23. “A Test for Mental Capacity to Request Assisted Suicide” by Cameron Stewart, … Read More
January 20, 2011
Saturday, February 5, 2011, 8:15 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Uris Hall, Weill Cornell Medical College 1300 York Avenue / 69th Street, New York, NY 10021 This symposium will examine the complex ethical and psychological aspects of scientific innovations in reproductive … Read More
January 19, 2011
Researchers have made strides in understanding the human mind, filling the hole left by the atrophy of theology and philosophy. (The New Yorker)
January 19, 2011
Scientists and clinicians push for a clearer, more permissive law on human embryonic stem-cell work. (Nature News)
January 19, 2011
National academy recommends legalizing tests where there is risk of serious incurable disease. (Nature News)
January 19, 2011
Justices will hear three appeals from California, where the state has cut back Medicaid payments to doctors, hospitals and pharmacies. Those providers have successfully sued to block the cutbacks, but lawyers for the state say they have no right to … Read More
January 19, 2011
The Journal of the American Medical Association (Volume 24, Issue 20, November 24, 2010) is now available by subscription only. Articles include: “The Real Meaning of Rationing” by David O. Meltzer and Allan S. Detsky, 2292-2293. “Medicare Head Donald M. … Read More
January 18, 2011
