White House promises not to mix spying and vaccinations
The use of a CIA-organised vaccination campaign in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad has led to a polio epidemic. Memo to public health workers: don’t...
Quebec legalises euthanasia
Quebec has become the first Canadian province to legalise euthanasia. Bill 52 easily passed in the National Assembly by a vote of 94 to 22....
Bioethics in a world of shrinking nations
Hi there, Another challenge to be faced by bioethics in the decades ahead is the downstream consequences of falling birth rates. Once fertility begins to...
Quebec on verge of legalising euthanasia
The governing Liberal Party and the other three major parties have taken the unusual step of backing a quick vote on the bill in the...
Five Belgians euthanased every day in 2013
The number of cases of euthanasia in Belgium in 2013 rose by 26.8% over the previous year. Five people died of euthanasia every day. The...
UK abortion doctors may consult via Skype
Doctors in the UK will be able to give an opinion by Skype or telephone on whether a woman is eligible for a government-funded abortion,...
Japanese stem cell researcher agrees to retract one of her papers
Haruko Obokata reportedly has told co-authors on the paper on stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency (STAP) cells that she was prepared to retract it. The Japanese...
Great suffering software!
Oxford bioethicist Anders Sandberg asks whether software can suffer. If so, what are the ethics of creating, modifying and deleting it from our hard drives?...
Bureaucrats cooked the books at US military hospitals
Almost no group in American society is more respected and better cared for than military veterans. Theoretically, that is.Almost no group in American society is...
Top employment strategies for discouraging conscientious objection
In a recent Journal of Medical Ethics article, controversial bioethicist Francesca Minerva argues for limiting the number of conscientious objectors in Italian hospitals.In a response...
Assisted suicide for the old but healthy
Swiss assisted suicide provider Exit has officially sanctioned assisted suicide on the grounds of old age. Swiss assisted suicide provider Exit has officially sanctioned...
The curious world of surrogacy #1: ‘I want to keep my baby’
A surrogate mother in the UK has received international media attention after she decided mid-pregnancy that she wants to ‘keep her baby’. A surrogate mother...