Informed consent deserves a little less respect
The conclusions of a ‘citizens’ jury’, reported recently in the British Medical Journal [1] shed light on some important weaknesses in the doctrine of ‘informed consent’. The doctrine is commonly...
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Mind-controlled limbs and redefining the self
Image credit: University of Pittsburgh/UPMC This week there were reports of the amazing advances being made in brain-computer interface (BCI) technology. Following just weeks of training, a 52-year old...
View ArticleWhen to eat the marshmallow: new perspectives on impulse control
In light of the fact that many readers will have an assortment of Christmas treats tempting them, I thought a post on impulse control would be timely. In the now paradigmatic Stanford marshmallow...
View ArticleThe Best Practical Ethics Books of the Year…
By the editors of the Practical Ethics blog. What is the best practical ethics book you read this year, and what is so good about it (in 1-3 sentences)? We asked this question to our colleagues at the...
View ArticleAbortion and the cognitively impaired mother
It will be interesting to watch the reception of a recent Court of Protection case, as yet unreported, in which a woman with profound learning difficulties was found to have capacity to decide not to...
View ArticleWhere are my smart genes? Searching for intelligence in our DNA
Reproductive technologies such as in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) mean it is currently possible for parents to create a range of embryos and make decisions...
View ArticleWhom Should We Refuse to Treat? Pregnant Rape Victims? Surrogates?
By Lachlan de Crespigny and Julian Savulescu An emergency centre doctor working in Germany has claimed 2 nearby catholic hospitals refused to accept a rape victim who needed treatment, in case she was...
View ArticleToo long in gestating: an overdue inquiry into the Abortion Act
Whatever your view of abortion, there are too many abortions, and too many of them are too late. Even abortion’s fiercest advocates don’t pretend that it’s a Good Thing – just the lesser of two evils....
View ArticlePractical Ethics and Philosophy
It is now quite common to draw distinctions between three types of philosophical ethics. Practical ethics is meant to concern substantive moral issues facing many of us each day, such as abortion or...
View ArticleThe Cultural Cost of Placebo
A recent poll says that nearly all General Practitioners in the UK have given placebos to at least one of their patients. The story can be seen here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-21834440...
View ArticleNon-consensual testing after needlestick injury: A legal and ethical drama
By Charles Foster and Jonathan Herring Scene 1: An Intensive Care Unit Like many patients in ICU, X is incapacitous. He also needs a lot of care. Much of that care involves needles. Late at night,...
View Article‘Precarious (Bio)ethics: Research on Poisoning Patients in Sri Lanka’
On 9 May 2013, Salla Sariola, from ETHOX, gave a fascinating talk at the St Cross Ethics Seminar, based on work done collaboratively with Bob Simpson (Durham). The presentation focused on the large...
View ArticleEnhancement: Rat Race or Supermarket? (Podcasts)
In this special Enhancement seminar, visiting speakers Rob Sparrow and Chris Gyngell discussed two aspects of enhancement. You can hear the podcast here (mp3). Rob Sparrow on ‘Enhancement and...
View ArticleEthics and the Limits of the Randomized Controlled Trial: Time to Enhance...
Parts of this blog are drawn from ‘Improving access to medicines: empowering patients in the quest to improve treatment for rare lethal diseases’, a forthcoming paper in the Journal of Medical Ethics...
View ArticlePushethics: How to get a lung for your child
By Julian Savulescu & Brian D. Earp [updated version] Sarah Murnaghan is a 10-year-old from Pennsylvania. Suffering from cystic fibrosis, she was likely to die without a lung transplant. Her...
View ArticleThree person IVF
It was announced yesterday that the government is moving towards allowing so-called three person IVF for the creation of embryos free of mitochondrial disease. The mitochondria are tiny organelles in...
View ArticleCaught in the genetic social network
Direct to consumer genetic testing is growing rapidly; 23andMe has hired Andy Page to help the company scale – especially since it aims at having one million members by the end at the year (currently,...
View ArticleKilling by praying
Dale and Leilani Neumann are Pentecostal Christians. Their 11 year old daughter, Kara, fell ill. In fact she had (undiagnosed) diabetes. Her parents refused to obtain medical help. Instead they...
View ArticleThe Ethics of Private Payment for Health Care: The Example of Vaccination
30 July. This blog is an extended version of the post ‘Vaccines: All or Nothing’ (posted 29 July). A vaccine which would protect children from Meningitis B has been rejected by the Joint Committee on...
View ArticlePress Release: Ethical Meat
On Monday, London will see the world’s first artificial meat burger cooked and tasted, by Professor Mark Post of Maastricht University. Artificial meat stops cruelty to animals, is better for the...
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