By Alexandra Mullock, Suzanne Ost, and Nancy Preston With lawful assisted dying (AD) on the horizon in England and Wales with the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, and elsewhere in and around the UK (Isle of Man, Jersey, Scotland), important questions about how best to establish a service to provide safe access to […]
Latest articles
The moral core of medicine, moral authority and ethical presence
By Hana Abbasian Medicine occupies a distinctive moral position in society. Medical authority is grounded in an ethical orientation toward care, healing, and understanding human vulnerability. This relational perspective is sustained through trust, presence, and responsiveness to suffering. In my recent article in the Journal of Medical Ethics, I examine how medical ethics is transformed […]
Can unpredictability undermine consent? Rethinking the transformative experience objection
By Dr. Johnny Sakr Public discussion about abortion often assumes that informed consent works in a straightforward way: a person receives information, weighs risks and benefits, and decides. Joona Räsänen’s recent article challenges this by arguing that abortion is a transformative experience, a decision that can fundamentally alter a person’s values, identity, and outlook. If […]
Gaza and boycotts – an ethical perspective
By Zohar Lederman As I write this, the Jewish Film Festival is playing in Hong Kong. After buying tickets, I learned that some people are boycotting the event to protest Israel’s conduct in Gaza. Another friend has suggested that Israeli academics should expect and understand being boycotted for the same reason. In a recent conference […]
Variants of unknown significance in stem cell donation – new dilemmas in genomic practice
By Helena Carley, Kate Sahan, Helen Hanson, Katie Snape, Sarah Westbury, Michael J Parker, & Anneke M Lucassen Current popular discourse surrounding genomics is frequently one of ‘clarity’ and ‘transformation’, concepts projected by the NHS 10 year plan and echoed in the media. Technological advances in genomics over recent years have been impressive: whole genome […]
When evidence has only one arm: The ethical challenges of single arm trials
By Chiara Mannelli and Giuseppe Traversa Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have long been regarded as the “gold standard” for testing new treatments. Yet in recent years, an increasing number of marketing authorizations – especially for cancer drugs – have been based on single arm trials (SATs). In these studies, all patients receive the experimental treatment, […]
Not all persons are persons, yet some non-persons are persons: how one word hides two meanings
By Dr. Johnny Sakr Everyone thinks they know what a person is, right up until they try to define one. In their recent contribution to the Journal of Medical Ethics, Nancy Jecker and Caesar Atuire invite a richer and more humane account. Drawing on African philosophical traditions, they argue that personhood is not an isolated […]
Shared misuse, shared consequences: The ethical dimensions of antimicrobial resistance
By Zeynep Sude Yeşildağ and Şəfiqə Süleymanova Antibiotics are among the most significant advances in modern medicine, transforming once-fatal infections into easily treatable conditions. Yet this success has a fragile side. When antibiotics are used casually, without proper indication or supervision, the very tools designed to save lives begin to lose their effectiveness. What was once […]
Moving beyond bodily autonomy: why reproductive ethics needs phenomenology
By Sanne van der Marck Although abortion is an important component of women’s reproductive healthcare in many countries, it continues to be a highly debated issue. Central to this debate is the moral status of the foetus and the rights of the pregnant individual, in particular their right to bodily autonomy. And while medical risks […]
Teens on the ethics panel: Why IRBs should hear from young people
By Samuel Asiedu Owusu and Claudia Passos-Ferreira Pediatric research is often designed for children but reviewed without them. When research involves children, adults make the ethical calls. They design the studies, write the consent forms, and sit on the ethics committees that approve them. They don’t always get it right. Listening to children can make […]