By Paul Gosney, Paul Lomax, Carwyn Hooper, Aileen O’Brien We felt that there was an acceptance in mental healthcare that appeal tribunals are an inherently good thing, that they are an appropriate counterweight to the power the state gives health professionals to detain and treat people against their will. This praise of tribunals is found […]
Latest articles
When should a doctor’s behaviour be criminal?
By Suzanne Ost Two recent, controversial cases involving doctors and the criminal law have caught my attention because they could challenge our perceptions about when it is appropriate to criminalise doctors’ behaviour. We use the criminal law to hold people to account when they commit the most serious wrongs. The State acts in the name […]
From Cochrane to Aquinas: Euthanasia, palliative opioid use and palliative sedation
By Thomas David Riisfeldt Having previously studied bioethics at university, I welcomed the recent opportunity to leave my comfortable philosopher’s armchair (albeit with some hesitation) and work as a junior doctor in a palliative care hospital. My daily routine began with a ward round to check in on my patients. In addition to exploring complex […]
He Jiankui’s Genetic Misadventure: Why Him? Why China?
By Jing-Bao Nie This post first appeared on The Hastings Center Forum on 5 December, 2018. The birth of gene-edited twin girls was announced by a young Chinese scientist He Jiankui through one of four self-made promotional videos in English on YouTube (a website officially banned in China) on November 25. Three days later, at the Second […]
Rogue scientist: the human CRISPR experiment
By Jeanne Snelling and Mike King Chinese researcher, He Jiankui, claims to have implanted CRISPR-cas9 gene-edited embryos into potentially six women resulting in at least one successful pregnancy (of twins). Given the unconventional and inadequate way information has been released by He, and the fact that the research has not had thorough oversight, the facts […]
Claims over human genome editing: scientific irresponsibility at its worst
By Sarah Chan This post first appeared in The Motley Coat on 26 November 2018. The announcement made today, that the world’s first genome-edited babies have been born in China, is of grave ethical concern. In evaluating this news, we should first remember that these claims have not yet been scientifically validated through peer reviewed publication […]
Not long for this world: The timing of requests for a medically hastened death in the context of end of life care
By Lori Seller and Veronique Fraser As ethicists working in university health centers, many of our consultations revolve around decision making at the end of life. We know from academic literature, as well as from experience, that end of life discussions tend to come late in the illness trajectory and that the quality of these discussions […]
Should we boycott? That’s only part of the question
By Ryan Essex In my article, I ask whether clinicians should boycott Australian immigration detention. While the harm of this system has been well documented, as has the futility of delivering healthcare, I argue against a boycott. I don’t however dismiss a boycott entirely. To understand this point, the question of whether we should boycott needs […]
Making money in medical ethics
By Daniel Sokol Ten years ago, I was asked to contribute a chapter to a medical careers guide called ‘So you want to be a brain surgeon?’. The editors wanted me to write about life as a medical ethicist, including the salary. On a 5-point scale from a single £ to £££££, I gave it […]
JOB: Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Bioethics & Public Policy, King’s College London
An opportunity to do postdoctoral research at King’s College London focused on applied philosophy and healthcare. Post details: This post is for a Postdoctoral Researcher to work on a Wellcome-funded project entitled, “’But why is that better?’: An investigation of what applied philosophy and ethics can bring to quality improvement work in health care”. The post will […]