LifeEthics
philosophy
Another end of life dispute (Motl Brody)
Doctors at a hospital in the District of Columbia have determined that a 12 year old boy, Motl Brody, has no upper or lower brain activity. He was declared dead by legal criteria November 4. Here’s the Washington Post article on the case. By legal and medical criteria, the boy died last week. The dilemma … Continue reading
Upside down ethics
That last post definitely points out the mess of current bioethics: Autonomy as the first principle, before the more traditional “Heal when possible, but first do no harm.” Is the purpose of medicine to give the patient what he or she wants, or is it to save lives and restore or maintain health? As I’ve … Continue reading
>On Conscience: Philosophical, not Scientific or Medical Debate
>Some of you may have already seen this transcript from the September ’08 President’s Bioethics Council meeting. Three physicians gave testimony on September 12th, including Dr. Farr Curlin, Dr. Howard Brody, and (from the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, although she says she’s not there as an ACOG representative) Dr. Anne Drapkin Lyerly. Council … Continue reading
>Is conscience solely a religious matter?
>I’ve commented on the surprising accusation that protection of the consciences of physicians is anti-gay as well as anti-abortion by the pro-abortion faction. Now, the atheists are chiming in, claiming over and over that it’s just the Christians who might refuse to perform abortions and object to calling abortion standard reproductive care. “Pharyngula,” is the … Continue reading
>Skeptical view on Expelled, the Movie
>Michael Shermer, the Skeptic, has seen the movie, Expelled, in advance of its release Friday, April 18th, and posted a review on his blog at Scientific American. Shermer is a spin doctor who, while purporting to follow reason, is actually better understood by the title he often sports, “skeptic.” His near-“single-issue” is atheism vs. religion, … Continue reading
Nature nurtures debate on namesake
Josh Carter, over at the Bioethics.com blog, comments on the editorial in the April 10th issue of Nature, (subscription only. Joe quoted some but let me know if you need the full text) which uses news of a transgendered (but not transexual) pregnant and bearded woman to ask the age-old question, what is “natural” and … Continue reading
>Human-DNA-in-cow-egg embryo created in UK
>Scientists in the UK report that they have created an embryo using the transfer of human nuclear DNA from an embryonic human cell into the oocyte of a cow that has had the nucleus removed. These embryos are the “hybrids” or “cybrids” that we’ve been discussing for the last few years. From the Guardian: Apparently … Continue reading
>"Expelled" Producers make silly, ironic mistake
>The producers of the movie “Expelled” owe PZ Meyersa lifetime pass to the movie. And they really need to attend and pass a logic class. Dr. Myers, a scientist who researches cephalopods, and one of the men interviewed for the movie, was escorted by security from a free event that included a preview of the … Continue reading
>"Expelled, The Movie" Conversation Continues
>The many Anonymice are still discussing world views on a post from last October. (In case you wondered where I’ve been: We’ve had our primary, with one hotly contested local Republican race ending in a cliff-hanger. The same seat was decided by 54 votes out of about 20,000 in 2006. This time, it looks like … Continue reading
Abortion and risk to the health of later babies
New analysis of old data published in the January 2008 issue of the Journal of Epidemiological Community Health (free abstract) has confirmed the association between induced abortions and later premature birth and low birth weight babies. Babies born prematurely and/or weighing less that normal are much more likely to die in the first month or … Continue reading
Visit WingRight
- “American Fiction,” the movie – and life
- Maternal Morbidity with Premature Rupture of Membranes
- Counterintuitive abortion report
- Paris at Café de la Paix
- Political, purposeful lies (Francis Collins & Anthony Fauci)
- Comprehensive review of Texas’ Heartbeat Act
- Biden to Ask OSHA to Mandate Vaccines at Businesses With 100 or More Workers
- Long Post Reviewing COVID19 Myths
- Afghanistan: Read this
- Conversation with January 6 protester
LifeEthics 