Editors’ Note: The following is an update to an earlier post on this fetal rights case by bioethicist Ruth Macklin, Ph.D. Justice has prevailed in the case of Marlise Muñoz, the brain-dead, pregnant woman in a Texas hospital that was refusing to remove her from life support against her family’s wishes. The hospital had cited Read more
Women’s Health
Sometimes being a doctor in an urban area such as the Bronx means you see all the things you can’t do for your patients. What do you do when what you can accomplish in the office isn’t nearly enough for your patients? * * * A 16-year-old comes to see you for prenatal care. She lives with Read more
Numerous strategies by antiabortion groups to curb women’s constitutional right to abortion are frequently reported in the news, and come as no surprise. However, a recent development illustrates novel circumstances in which people are using legal maneuvers to conspire to restrict medical decisions by patients and their families even when the right to abortion is Read more
The use of gestational surrogates in India is a booming business, but is it ethical? This growing practice involves individuals and couples from countries in Western Europe, North America, Israel, Japan and elsewhere who work through brokers to have their genetically related offspring carried through pregnancy and birth by Indian women. An estimated $500 million Read more
I’ve dedicated my entire career to helping those diagnosed with cancer cope better, so they can regain the best quality of life possible. I was heartened by a recent New York Times article detailing efforts by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to change the definition of cancer and potentially eliminate the use of the word Read more
Editor’s Note: A paper published in the July edition of the American Journal of Public Health claims that the landmark 15-year Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study harmed women by advising those who’d undergone hysterectomies to avoid estrogen therapy. The paper, by Philip Sarrel and his colleagues, claims that in women ages 50–59 (i.e., those closest to Read more
