Obama’s healthcare bill and abortion
March 27, 2010 Hi there, Occasionally readers ask us why we don’t cover the abortion debate more extensively. The answer is that we deliberately steer...
Obama’s healthcare bill scrapes through
Much bioethics debateDominating all bioethics discussions this week was the passage of President Obama’s healthcare bill. Although everyone agrees that American healthcare needs to be...
More surprises in Dutch euthanasia of infants
Doctors not killing their quota of babies For people outside the Netherlands, the most surprising thing about legally tolerated non-voluntary euthanasia of infants is that...
Psychiatrists prepare for the age of “patient-targeted googling”
New ethical dilemmasSupplementing patient information with searches through Facebook or MySpace is presenting novel ethical dilemmas for psychiatrists, according to an article in the Harvard...
US patients need medical records privacy
There should be a right to informed consent US patients should have the right to refuse to allow their medical records to be shared, says...
What about more mundane forms of torture?
What about nursing home scandals? There has been much debate over the obligation of doctors not to participate in torture. Fortunately, for nearly all doctors...
Disabled New Zealand woman chooses to starve to death
Estranged husband objectsA disabled New Zealand woman is committing suicide by starving herself to death. Her hospice has declined to force feed 60-year-old Margaret Page,...
Former head of UK infertility authority opposes cousin marriages
Baroness Ruth Deech says Muslim practices are unhealthyThe former chair of the UK’s fertility watchdog has called for a vigorous public campaign to oppose marriage...
Five years on, Terri Schiavo still a lightning rod for controversy
Outcry over satireThe controversy over the death of Terri Schiavo five years ago, on March 31, 2005, rages on. Ms Schiavo had been in a...
Canadian soldier accused of “mercy killing” of wounded Taliban
Captain speaks of implicit pact A Canadian Army officer is being court martialed for shooting a wounded and unarmed Taliban prisoner in a case which...