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....
Should we eliminate all suffering in the world?
Many sci-fi novels consider what life would be like without suffering. Philosopher David Pearce believes we can have such a life - and indeed, that...
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...
New Thai laws leave hundreds of babies in limbo
New surrogacy regulations introduced by the Thai junta government have placed hundreds of surrogate newborns and fetuses in a legal limbo. New surrogacy regulations introduced...
Controversy over Canadian fertility clinic’s mixed-race IVF prohibition
A Canadian fertility clinic has come under intense scrutiny for refusing to provide IVF for parents of different races. A Canadian fertility clinic has come...
#Repligate: Social priming research in crisis
Debate over social priming research has intensified following an inquiry into the replicability of priming experiments. Debate over social priming research has intensified following an...
Calls for regulation as Iran’s kidney trade spirals out of control
The peak body overseeing Iran’s kidney trade is lobbying the government for tighter regulation on foreign nationals procuring kidney transplants. Street art in Tehran depicting...
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...