Are they all like Jeremy Bentham?
How appropriate, I’ve always thought, that the father of utilitarianism, Jeremy Bentham, was pickled and placed on display at University College London. Utilitarianism is a...
Boycott China, say bioethicists
Despite assurances that the practice is winding down, China persists in using organs from executed prisoners. In an editorial in The Lancet, several prominent bioethicists...
Life with Down syndrome overwhelmingly happy, says US study
The latest research on life with Down syndrome paints a very positive picture. In a major feature in the American Journal of Medical Genetics, Dr...
German ethicists can’t agree on humanized animals
The German Ethics Council (Deutscher Ethikrat) has recommended that researchers be allowed to insert human genes into mice in a major report on human-animal mixtures....
Minimally conscious British woman must be allowed to live, says judge
A British woman in a “minimally conscious state” should not have her feeding tube removed so that she can die, a judge has ruled in...
Interested in a survey on race?
“Race” is a hardy concept, but does it have any social or scientific validity? Throughout 2011, the Progress Educational Trust in the UK has been...
Bahraini doctors jailed for treating protesters
Most news about military medical ethics involves doctors who harm patients. But in Bahrain 20 Shi’ite doctors and nurses have been jailed for up to...
British sperm donor fathers 17 families: incest fears
A British sperm donor has fathered 17 families, raising fears that his offspring could unwittingly have an incestuous relationship.A British sperm donor has fathered 17...
Divorcee can use ex’s embryos: Argentina ruling
A judicial ruling in Argentina said last week that a woman can use frozen embryos fertilised with her ex-husband’s sperm to get pregnant again. A...
South African apartheid doctor fights deregistration
South African cardiologist Wooter Basson has beaten various attempts to convict him of crimes committed under the former apartheid regime, particularly running its secret germ...
Surrogates often deeply upset by the process: study
While the key players in surrogacy – surrogates – generally receive little attention or scientific study, new research suggests that the process is often deeply...
IVF linked to genetic disorders
A geneticist at the University of Toronto has called for more research on the link between IVF and rare genetic disorders.A geneticist at the University...