Category Archives: bioethics

Organ Procurement Guidelines, Health Care Decisions and People With Disabilities

bioethics, dcd, diane coleman, donation after cardiac death, national catholic partnership on disability, organ donation, Our News & Commentary Blog, public comment, Stephen Mikochik, united network for organ sharing

Less than two months ago, I was introduced to a new policy arena about which I still have much to learn:  the organ procurement and organ sharing system.  In the U.S., the federal Department of Health and Human Services contracts with the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN)/United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) to manage … Continue reading Organ Procurement Guidelines, Health Care Decisions and People With Disabilities →

RESEARCH – Study finds that antisocial personality traits linked to embracing utilitarian ethics – (like those promoted by Peter Singer)

bioethics, moral reasoning, Our News & Commentary Blog, Peter Singer, psychopaths, research, Utilitarianism

I suspect most readers of this blog are familiar with Peter Singer – mostly through his views on infanticide and euthanasia.  Many others are already familiar with his book Animal Liberation – a book that served as the first inspiration for many who are now in the animal rights movement. Singer’s worldview – and the … Continue reading RESEARCH – Study finds that antisocial personality traits linked to embracing utilitarian ethics – (like those promoted by Peter Singer) →

Peter Singer: Latest Lecture Recommends Rationing Health Care on the Back of Disabled People

bioethics, disabilities, disabled people, discrimination, health care reform, healthcare rationing, Our News & Commentary Blog, Peter Singer

Last week, Peter Singer continued his longstanding vendetta against people with disabilities in a public lecture at Princeton University: Peter Singer, a professor with the University Center for Human Values, presented a talk on “Rationing Health Care” on Tuesday. The event, open to the public, was sponsored by the Student Bioethics Forum. Currently, the United … Continue reading Peter Singer: Latest Lecture Recommends Rationing Health Care on the Back of Disabled People →

Disability Health Disparities Based on Negative Quality of Life Judgments Must Be Challenged

bioethics, daly, health care reform, health disparities, healthcare rationing, Medicaid, medical discrimination, Our News & Commentary Blog, policy, qaly

While national disability organizations work hard to influence the federal budget debates, painful Medicaid cuts are already being considered and implemented at the state level across the country. Getting disability advocates and issues to the table is a major challenge. The Executive Director of the Center for Independence of the Disabled in New York just … Continue reading Disability Health Disparities Based on Negative Quality of Life Judgments Must Be Challenged →

Miracles, recovery and “rush-to-judgment” revisited

"miracles", bioethics, brain injury, life-ending decisions, Malpractice, medical decisionmaking, Our News & Commentary Blog, reality check, recovery, rush to judgment, steven miles, thaddeus pope, Wesley Smith

Last weekend, Thaddeus Pope posted a followup to an earlier item shared and discussed on his Medical Futility Blog. Let’s take it in order.  Back in March of this year, Pope originally shared the news about the unexpected recovery of Kimberly McNeill of New Zealand, an 18-year-old who suffered severe injuries in a car crash … Continue reading Miracles, recovery and “rush-to-judgment” revisited →