Ebola outbreak prompts ethical questions
The World Health Organisation has declared it an international public health emergency, although it has not suggested general bans on travel or trade. The worst-ever...
The world of Chinese surrogacy
This New York Times video sketches the burgeoning Chinese surrogacy industry. This New York Times video sketches the burgeoning Chinese surrogacy industry. Although it is...
Should governments pay for sex for the disabled?
Finding prostitutes for disabled clients is sometimes part of a social worker's job, even though both the legality and morality of this practice are disputed....
Baby Gammy
It’s amazing how mistaken I can be about how the public will react to bioethical issues. Take the recent sad case of Baby Gammy which...
Japanese stem cell scientist found dead after retracted papers
A leading Japanese stem cell researcher has committed suicide in the wake of retractions of papers which he co-authored. Yoshiki Sasai, 52, deputy director of...
Struldbrugs
Hi there, Every once in a while, I enjoy revisiting misanthropic classics. I picked up Gulliver’s Travels the other day and thumbed through his adventures...
Thailand cracks down on surrogacy
An Australian couple who commissioned a surrogate mother in rural Thailand abandoned a Down syndrome twin and left him with his impoverished mother. An Australian...
Have some American homeless become lab rats?
Companies run clinical trials for drugs, even dangerous drugs, cheaper and faster than universities. The web magazine Medium features a searing examination of the US...
Warsaw hospital head sacked for refusing to refer for abortion
The director of a hospital in Warsaw has been dismissed because he refused to refer a woman for an abortion. Dr Bogdan Chazan The...
US hospital settles for US$190 million over violation of patient privacy
A gynaecologist secretly photographed pelvic examinations. The prestigious Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore has agreed to pay US$190 million in compensation to 7,000 victims of...
Are bioethicists tools of policy technocrats?
Although bioethicists are believed to provide fearless independent advice, challenging policy-makers to make the “right” decisions, a Swiss expert in bureaucracies contends that this is...
A novel idea for decreasing euthanasia rates
A group of five academics from Switzerland and the UK have come up with a novel idea to keep the incidence of euthanasia from rising...