Reflections on the misrepresentation of one’s work

By Richard B. Gibson. In 2020, I published an article called No Harm, No Foul? Body Integrity Identity Disorder and the Metaphysics of Grievous Bodily Harm. The piece highlights the lack of definitional clarity within English and Welsh criminal law regarding what harm is, arguing that the concept’s open to varying interpretations. It uses metaphysics […]

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Me, my cells and I: reflecting on the value of the genome in light of the Lacks family settlement

By Aileen Editha. “Not only were the HeLa cells derived from Henrietta Lacks – the HeLa cells are Henrietta Lacks” – Ben Crump, attorney for the Lacks family. (He)nrietta (La)cks Henrietta Lacks was a Black tobacco farmer living in Baltimore, Maryland. She was treated for cervical cancer at Johns Hopkins University Hospital, one of the […]

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The UK Supreme Court just made meaningful patient involvement in medical decision-making more difficult

By Jennifer O’Neill. This week, the United Kingdom Supreme Court (UKSC) revisited its ruling in the landmark case of Montgomery v Lanarkshire [2015]. In McCulloch v Forth Valley Health Board [2023], the Supreme Court Justices established that doctors do not need to inform patients of all possible treatment alternatives as a requirement of informed consent. […]

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To breach or not to breach a patient’s confidentiality? A case study in the colorectal clinic

By Daniel Sokol. A patient presents to the colorectal clinic with bleeding from the rectum.  “Doctor”, he says sheepishly, “I must tell you that I have sex with my dog.” Intercourse with an animal, once known as ‘buggery with an animal’, is a criminal offence under s69 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, with a […]

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Ethically inconsistent marketing of communication and resolution programs

By Doug Wojcieszak  The movement to encourage physicians to disclose, apologize, and make amends (financial and otherwise) following medical errors is gaining momentum, especially in the United States.  Many people are supporting this movement, including a large and growing collection of healthcare, insurance, and legal professionals and patient advocates who call themselves the “Collaborative for […]

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Disability, mental illness, and medical assistance in dying in Canada: Recent slippery slope and social determinants of health arguments miss the mark

By Jocelyn Downie and Udo Schuklenk In its 2015 landmark Carter decision, Canada’s Supreme Court ruled that the blanket criminalisation of medical assistance in dying (MAiD) unjustifiably infringes on Canadians’ rights and declared that the prohibitions were: “of no force or effect to the extent that they prohibit physician-assisted death for a competent adult person […]

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