By Rafael Escandon. Dr. Walter Reed, between 1900-1901 designed and supervised a Human Challenge Trial (HCT) in Cuba in the search for the causative agent of yellow fever. While the 3 phases of Dr. Reed’s HCT were definitive in their establishment that yellow fever was transmitted via a mosquito-borne vector, ethical questions over the methods, […]
Latest articles
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 […]
Medical assistance in dying—is there a case for including persons with mental illness?
By Nicholas Delva, Anees Bahji Over the last couple of decades, medical assistance in dying (MAiD) has become legal in a few developed countries. Developments in this area have been primarily driven by patients, with general support from the population. Governments have been cautious in the development of legislation, which is not surprising given that […]
COVID certificates do not pose dilemmas: they pose challenges (and discussion will only work well if we understand it)
By Iñigo de Miguel Beriain The progressive imposition of the so-called COVID certificates over the course of 2021 has brought an enormous controversy. In some countries, such as France, there have even been massive public protests against them. Analyses of public attitudes towards certification show a high degree of social polarization. A significant minority of […]
The ethical pitfalls of prioritising healthcare workers for ventilators during Covid-19
By Lois Shepherd, Donna T. Chen, Jordan Taylor, Mary Faith Marshall Early in the Covid-19 pandemic hospitals and health systems scrambled to create and adopt guidelines for rationing critical care resources in the event of scarcity. A major focus of those guidelines was how to allocate ventilators—namely, who would get a hospital’s last ventilator when […]
Data for Sale, But Who’s Buying?
By Mackenzie Graham When the history of the Covid-19 pandemic is eventually written, one of the major themes will likely be the important role of ‘big data’. From early discussions about ‘r-rates’, to daily updates on new cases, hospitalisations, and deaths, to consternation about contact tracing apps, and more recently, rates of vaccination, data has […]
Eugenics and reproductive carrier screening: why would you go there?
By Lisa Dive & Ainsley J Newson. It seems that one of the best ways a bioethics academic can attract an avalanche of very strong opinions is to publish a paper with the word “eugenics” in the title. Why then would we do so? In short, because we consider it important to pay attention to […]
How to apply the MCA capacity criteria more transparently and reliably
By Scott Kim, Nuala Kane, Alex Ruck Keene, Gareth Owen. A lot is at stake in a mental capacity evaluation. An error can lead to a capacitous adult’s decision being ignored or even overruled, or to a vulnerable, incapacitous person being abandoned to their ‘rights.’ Unfortunately, there is no simple formula that generates the right […]
Where souls refuse to go
By Pauline Thiele In 2010 I was urged to write about our son, Liam, and submit the narrative for publication with the Journal of Medical Ethics. The three following three people, in the said order, were my greatest encouragement and support throughout the submission: Andrew Watkins (neonatologist), John Harris (the then editor-in-chief of JME/bioethicist), and […]
Demystifying a part of the Wild West of healthcare AI
By Jordan Joseph Wadden. The pace at which we can see technological developments in healthcare is truly amazing. Sometimes it almost seems like technology is moving too fast, which raises some familiar concerns about patient safety, job security, and sometimes even what it means to be human. One of the fastest growing uses of technology […]