bioethics

Should people who are stupid be killed?

Let's face it. Stupidity is sometimes attributed to genetics. Therefore, people who are stupid are genetically disabled. By allowing them to be stupid and go into the world and reproduce, we are just...

Should Premature Babies of Less Than 23 Weeks be Resustated?

I just read an article about the youngest premature baby to be born and survive, Amillia, was less than 23 weeks old and only as long as a ball point pen (weighing 10 oz) when she was born. She has...

The Gut: Tribalism’s Home and Not Always a Bad Thing

Thanks, Shannon for your blogging, which has provided a smorgasbord.  In the comments to his “Identity-Politics Insanity” post, Helen’s observation reminds us of a truth about American politics...

Faulkner’s Grip on Psychology

“The old fierce pull of blood.” - Faulkner Literature helps us understand human nature.  Disciplines designed to do so are not always so good at it.  Sometimes, indeed, they seem...

Unclean! Unclean!

Megan McArdle’s post on the resurgence of measles due to a lack of vaccinations prompted me to think about the modern moral and legal ramifications of someone choosing to go about unvaccinated....

Another Reminder

To keep Borlaug on our horizon, here is John Pollock’s  Green Revolutionary in Technology Review.

BLOG: Health Wonk Review At Health Care Renewal

The latest edition of the Health Wonk Review–the biweekly roundup of posts from the health policy blogosphere–is now up at Roy Poses’ blog, Health Care Renewal. He defines his blog...

BioEthical Challenge #2

Ok, here's another bioethical dilemma: Informed Consent Each year about 60,000 patients are place on an eligibility list for kidney transplantation in the U.S.; yet only 17% actually receive...

Bioethical Dilemma #3

Ok, last one for today: Doctor-Assisted Suicide (Euthanasia) (1)  Mary, a 67-year-old smoker living in Holland, has inoperable throat cancer.  She will likely suffocate from airway obstruction...

Medical BioEthics Challenge

You are on the bioethics panel at a well-known hospital.  There is one heart, and six patients need it.  Assume that, without this heart, they will all die of the same disease, in the same manner and...

Synthetic Life

Every once in a while I depart from the subject matter of this blog because I come across something that I just want to share. This is one of those times. I was reading an article in the Guardian...

CLASSIC HEALTH AFFAIRS: Reinhardt And Relman Debate For-Profit Medicine, Medical Ethics

Editor’s Note: As Health Affairs celebrates its 25th anniversary, we look back at some health policy highlights of the past quarter century—many of which are still highly relevant to today’s...