By Joanne Hunt and Charlotte Blease. Health research, much like healthcare, is often plagued by persistent ableism. These two issues are likely connected. Disabled people across the globe experience a multitude of institutional, physical and attitudinal barriers to healthcare. Beyond inaccessible clinical environments and equipment, people with disabilities are confronted with clinical ambivalence, discriminatory attitudes […]
Latest articles
Polygenic testing for IVF embryo selection in Singapore: Proceed with caution
By Alexis Heng Boon Chin, Lee Wei Lim, and Sayyed Mohamed Muhsin Singapore, like most affluent East Asian countries, has seen a drastic decline in total fertility rates (TFR) in recent years. In 2022 and 2023, the TFR hit new lows of 1.04 and 0.97 children per woman, respectively. This has dire implications for […]
Mothers of today, mothers of tomorrow
By Emanuele Mangione Who are the “mothers” of today? It is common opinion that assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) changed motherhood forever, especially biological motherhood. Nowadays a child can have a single biological mother, that is someone who contributes both genetically and gestationally to their creation; two biological mothers, that is a genetic mother who […]
Hidden harms and the death of Alexei Navalny
By Johnna Wellesley. “Life makes no sense if you have to tolerate endless lies.” (Navalny) The sudden death of imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on 16 February 2024 in an Arctic penal colony was felt around the world. Responding to the announcement from the Federal Penitentiary Service, his wife, Yulia, addressed the Munich Security […]
Nonviolent climate protests and the medical profession – should doctors be struck off for their actions
By Rammina Yassaie. Doctors with convictions from taking part in climate-related peaceful protests are at risk of being “struck off” by the General Medical Council (GMC), as tribunals are set to determine whether they can keep their license to practice. Increasing numbers of climate-related arrests have occurred recently, with doctors engaging in non-violent direct action […]
Scottish support for assisted dying/assisted suicide is ebbing away
By David Albert Jones. On 27 March 2024, Liam McArthur introduced his Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill. He said that he was “absolutely convinced” that the legislation would be passed as “there is growing public support for the policy”. Similarly, when the Bill was proposed in 2022 it was argued that public […]
Beyond the robot apocalypse
By Nancy S. Jecker, Caesar A. Atuire, Jean-Christophe Bélisle-Pipon, Vardit Ravitsky, Anita Ho. In Christopher Nolan’s film, Oppenheimer, the protagonist frets that unleashing atomic energy will forever alter the world, making humankind’s annihilation possible. Some philosophers and many tech leaders fret AI has similar prospects –it imperils “humankind as a whole,” writes Nick Bostrom, and […]
The Transformative Potential of CAR-T Therapies: Need for Deeper Consideration of Ethics & Equity of Access for Patients
By Aisling McMahon, Alanna Kells and Sinéad Masterson CAR-T therapies (Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell Therapy) have demonstrated remarkable potential for the treatment of certain blood cancers. CAR-T therapy is a cellular immunotherapy which involves the extraction of a sample of a patient’s white blood cells (T-cells) which are then modified outside the body to […]
If we expand the criteria for what makes a medical intervention invasive, we should include ingestion, not mental distress
Paul Affleck , Julia Cons, and Simon E. Kolstoe. De Marco et al have challenged the standard account of what makes a medical intervention invasive, stimulating a set of commentaries, including our own. Whilst we have enjoyed this correspondence, we still disagree on some fundamental points. De Marco et al state it is not clear […]
Pronatalism gone wrong? Cash rewards, state-sponsored dating, and exemption from military conscription
By J. Y. Lee. “A South Korean firm is offering to pay its workers $75,000 each time they have a baby,” a recent news headline reads. Pronatalist incentives are not new in South Korea; the South Korean government has spent 270 billion dollars since 2006 in effort to promote childbirth and reverse declining fertility rates. […]