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 […]
Latest articles
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 […]
Obesity, equity and choice
By T.M. Wilkinson An awful lot of people are getting fatter than is good for their health. Many jurisdictions, under pressure from public health advocates, are trying to steer choices away from the obesogenic by taxing and regulating sugary and fatty food and drink. No one I know of thinks these methods will solve the […]
Sculpting body parts: How the arts contribute to ethical reflection
By Sarah N Boers Recent advances in stem cell technology enable the cultivation of 3D human tissues in a dish called organoids or ‘mini-organs’ popularly. This constitutes only one example of the numerous ways in which human tissues can nowadays be utilized to create complex human tissue products. Growing commercialization can contribute to translating scientific promises […]
How we can make better decisions in review and design of research using a simple ethics model
By Hugh Davies It’s right that all with a legitimate interest in research contribute to its design, review, conduct and dissemination. To thrive, research must be an honest partnership between ALL involved. Few would argue but, in accepting this, we need a process to allow us resolve differences when they arise. Here, in this blog, I […]
Is there room for a palliative psychiatry?
By Anna Lindblad It first occurred to me during a house visit. Sitting next to a very old and very frail person shaking with anxiety, I realised that there was not much for me, the psychiatrist, to offer. Pharmacotherapies had not relieved the symptoms of depression. Electroconvulsive therapy was no option due to somatic comorbidity. […]
Do we exaggerate expected benefits when we communicate with our patients?
By Ramy Sedhom As a first year oncology fellow, I am eager to help patients suffering from cancer. And although some cancer drugs offer large, definite benefit, many drugs improve outcomes only marginally. The medical community and laypersons recognize the need to develop therapeutics that is clinically meaningful. The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) defines […]