Paradoxes of assisted suicide in Germany
The status of assisted suicide in Germany is paradoxical: you have a right to assisted suicide but you do not have a right to acquire...
Do critics of ‘conversion therapy’ live in a fact-free zone?
“We are committed to building a society in which conversion therapy no longer takes place,” says the UK Minister for Women and Equalities, Liz Truss....
Meet the ‘world’s most prolific sperm donor’
An Englishman who describes himself as the "world's most prolific sperm donor", says he has fathered 129 children, and another nine on the way. His...
Should psychiatrists revise their ‘Goldwater Rule’?
American psychiatrists are ethically barred from commenting on the mental health of public figures under the so-called Goldwater Rule. This criterion, which was adopted by...
7 Spaniards who were euthanised last year donated their organs
Well, well, well, that didn’t take long, did it? Spain legalised euthanasia on June 25 last year and already transplant surgeons are using organs from...
China quietly cuts back on vasectomies to stop falling birth rates
February 9, 2017 was not one of Hu’s better days. Unbeknownst to him, family planning authorities in his home county in Yunnan, a province in...
Predicting an embryo’s future with ‘polygenic risk scores’ is ‘unproven’ and ‘unethical’, say experts
“Advanced embryo genetic testing. Choose your healthiest embryo.” This is the slogan of Genomic Prediction, an American company which is selling polygenic risk scores (PRSs)...
Advance care directives often don’t work, says doctors
A few months ago three doctors stated flatly in JAMA that the American system of advance care planning (ACP) is broken. Logic was on its...
Hungry Afghans selling their kidneys — and their daughters
Reports like this should be tempered with scepticism, but there are persistent rumours that families in Afghanistan are selling organs and even their children to...
‘Shit-stirring’ discredits utilitarianism, bioethicist argues
Utilitarianism has an image problem. Whether or not you agree with them, utilitarian arguments are widely used and need to be discusses seriously. However, some...
Ecuador’s President vows to veto abortion bill
The new president of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, declared this week that he will veto a bill that Congress is debating to regulate abortion in cases...
Noted US journalist George Will backs ‘assisted dying’
80-year-old George Will has won a succession of awards for his op-ed, beginning with a 1977 Pulitzer Prize. He is generally regarded as one of...