By Rosalind McDougall, Lynn Gillam, Danielle Ko, Isabella Holmes, Clare Delany Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, clinicians in well-resourced healthcare systems usually had the information and resources they needed to appropriately protect themselves while still providing optimal care for patients. However, achieving both staff protection and high quality patient care has now become difficult in […]
Latest articles
Mechanical ventilators: the evidence of effectiveness
By Jonathan J. Darrow and Jing Luo As government leaders move to relax physical distancing requirements related to severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a central assumption is that mechanical ventilators will form part of the safety net needed to sustain life in those afflicted with the disease it causes, Covid-19. Ventilators have been described as […]
Patents, private governance and access to vaccines and treatments for Covid-19
By Aisling McMahon Recent moves such as by the United States and United Kingdom to negotiate deals to access large quantities of vaccines/medicines for Covid-19 within their territories raise serious questions around access to healthcare and global equitable distribution. Such attempts to secure preferential access, although understandable within the national context, can jeopardise supplies of […]
Must Clinical Ethics Committees involve patients or families in their meetings?
By Dominic Wilkinson @Neonatalethics and Michael Dunn @ethical_mikey Originally posted on PRACTICAL ETHICS In a high court case reported last week, a judge strongly criticised a London hospital’s clinical ethics committee (CEC). The case related to disputed treatment for a gravely ill nine-year old child. There had been a breakdown in the relationship between the […]
Reconceiving the womb in medicine, law and society
By Elizabeth Chloe Romanis, Dunja Begović, Alex Mullock and Margot Brazier. Our new JME article, Re-Viewing the Womb is a collaborative endeavour from the Centre for Social Ethics and Policy at Manchester, which was established over 30 years ago by Professors Margot Brazier and John Harris. Our centre has always had an active interest in repro-ethics […]
We need to talk about corona apps
By Lucie White. The initial hype about a digital contact tracing app that could control the COVID-19 outbreak until an effective vaccine or treatment can be found has died down – governments are downplaying the potential of what was initially sold as a crucial means of escaping lockdown. At the same time, many countries are […]
Good Reasons to Vaccinate: COVID19 Vaccine, Mandatory or Payment Model?
By Julian Savulescu. The best chance of bringing the Coronavirus pandemic to an end with the least loss of life and the greatest return to normality seems to be the introduction of an effective vaccine. But how should such a vaccine be distributed? To be effective, particularly in protecting the most vulnerable in the population, […]
Are the IAAF rules on women’s eligibility in middle distance running unethical?
By Sigmund Loland According to the Differences of Sex Development (DSD) Regulations of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), athletes with heightened testosterone levels are considered non-eligible in women’s middle distance running races. The case is contested by athletes, scientists, and bioethicists. In 2019, World and Olympic Champion South African middle distance runner Caster […]
Ongoing puberty suppression should be an available treatment option for non-binary adults, but case-by-case analysis is also needed
By Lauren Notini The use of medications to suppress puberty (puberty suppression or puberty blockers) in young people who identify as transgender (trans) or gender diverse (TGD) has generated ongoing debate in the media and bioethics literature. Puberty blockers are typically recommended as a treatment option for TGD young people who are experiencing gender dysphoria […]
Government-Sanctioned Health Care Discrimination During a Pandemic: Legally Nonsensical and Morally Bereft
By Charles Binkley and David S. Kemp The Trump administration recently announced a rule change that would effectively remove nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people in health care and health insurance. Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) prohibits discrimination in the provision of health care on the basis of “race, color, national origin, sex, […]