Paralysed mum granted visitation rights
A judge has issued a temporary ruling that allows Abbie Dorn visitation with 4-year-old triplets. Abbie Dorn, 34, suffered severe brain damage from a...
Liz Taylor: actress, activist, clinical trial subject
Elizabeth Taylor: clinical trial subjectElizabeth Taylor, the Hollywood star who passed away last week of congestive heart failure, is best known for her acting and...
US psychiatrists accused of unethical treatment of prisoners
Human rights group criticises US government about Bradley ManningA doctors’ human rights organisation has criticised US military psychiatrists, saying that they are not fulfilling their...
Nuclear apocalypse upstages Japan’s real dilemma: comment
The real danger is psychological trauma, says BMJ contributorAlthough the death toll from the recent tsunami may rise to 20,000, Japanese seem to be more...
New suicide kits for sale
29-year-old Oregon man kills himself using new “helium hood”Some Oregon legislators want a law to ban the sale of helium hoods, a new device produced...
Canadian baby at heart of ethics debate goes to US for surgery
Canadian doctors wouldn’t treat him A tear-jerking futile care case has been fought in Canada with the help of American firepower. One-year-old Joseph Maraachli, the child...
Down’s Syndrome test breakthrough looming
Test could be available by 2013 A less risky non-invasive procedure for diagnosing Down’s syndrome could be generally available to pregnant women by 2013, a...
Should last remaining known smallpox virus be destroyed?
Is research more important than public safety? Three decades after the threat of smallpox was eliminated, international disputes have resurfaced with greater intensity about whether...
Is it ethical to use shock treatments for disruptive individuals?
Concerns raised over Boston school’s treatments for autism and behavioural problems The Judge Rotenberg Center, a special needs school in Boston, has been the site of...
Death row inmate offers to donate organs
Claims he can make “profound benefit to society” Death row inmate Christian Longo has written in a New York Times opinion piece that he would...
Pope speaks out on post-abortion syndrome, conscience
Pope argues for generosity and solidarityPope Benedict XVI has endorsed the existence of post-abortion syndrome in a recent speech to the Pontifical Academy for Life....
Instant DNA fingerprinting at the push of a button
DNA analysis to be cheaper, faster and easierThe Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plans to begin testing a device that would make DNA analysis cheaper,...