Bioethics

CORRECTION:  In a blog post on February 10, 2015, reporting on developments in the UK regarding the transmission of mitochondrial DNA disease, I mistakenly wrote that the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) had approved use of a technique to avoid transmission from an affected woman to her offspring. The HFEA does not have the Read more

Bioethics is not about technology. This is a controversial statement, since bioethicists are often invited to comment on new issues at the interface of technology and health. We comment on gene therapy, on big data and medical research, on the use of advanced imaging techniques in the courtroom. But the questions we address are not Read more

The case of Cassandra C., a 17-year-old in Connecticut who refused to continue receiving chemotherapy to treat her Hodgkin’s lymphoma, poses a genuine ethical dilemma. The dilemma stems from a conflict between two leading ethical principles. One principle, respect for autonomy, calls for respecting individuals’ right to self-determination. In the medical context, that means allowing Read more

A new revelation has added to the ongoing controversy over the health risks of e-cigarettes. Some commentators have viewed the use of this electronic delivery system for nicotine as a way for smokers to cut down on tobacco cigarettes or quit the habit altogether. Others have contended that e-cigarettes can be a “gateway” to smoking Read more

Every day we learn of new suspected cases of Ebola infection in the United States, causing worries among the population and renewed efforts by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to contain the epidemic. A student in the postgraduate course in research ethics that I teach at Albert Einstein College of Medicine recently asked Read more