A woman on borrowed time opposes California’s assisted suicide
Stephanie Packer found that a lethal barbiturate was less expensive than the drugs she needed Stephanie Packer is a 33-year-old Californian woman with a terminal...
We goofed. Sorry
We goofed and we're eating humble pie. Wednesday, October 19, was World Bioethics Day. I'm afraid that it passed unnoticed at BioEdge, perhaps because every...
I’m glad I’m part Neanderthal
More unexpected consequences Do-it-yourself genetic testing with 23andMe.com can be useful for discovering susceptibilities to genetic diseases and for research into ancestry. What no one...
Words matter in assisted suicide
UK society changes its name Another euthanasia lobby group has rebranded itself. SOARS, The Society for Old Age Rational Suicide, a lobby group based in...
Indonesian President adamant on chemical castration policy
But doctors say that it is unethical to cooperate Indonesian President Joko Widodo has told the BBC that his new policy of chemical castration could...
Norway to allow foetal reduction of multiple births
Fears of abortion tourism from Denmark and Sweden Norwegian health officials have ruled that not only is foetal reduction legal for residents, but that women...
More couples crowd-funding IVF
Desperate couples try to defray expensive treatment costs More and more couples are resorting to internet crowd-funding sites to finance their IVF treatments in the...
No Chinese baby boom after new two-child policy
Birth rate stays stubbornly low China's recently introduced universal two-child policy is predicted to have a relatively small effect on population growth, with a likely...
Remembering Tanonius Marcellinus, a fun guy to be with
In the 19th Century a statue of Tanonius Marcellinus, consul of Campania (now the region around Naples) was unearthed in the town of Benevento. It...
Dutch will probably legalise assisted dying for people tired of living
New law required The Dutch government plans to create a new end-of-life law for elderly people who are tired of living. Health Minister Edith Schippers...
Could it become too expensive to ask for assisted suicide?
Price of lethal drug soars in Washington state Assisted suicide and euthanasia take patients, doctors and society at large into uncharted territory. But in the...
Gin and bear it
A parable of media hype Are you feeling guilty? You ought to be if you like your gin and tonic. For according to the headlines,...