Category Archives: bioethics

Delaware House Passes Nonbinding Resolution on Protecting People with Cognitive Disabilities from Medical Killing

bioethics, Our News & Commentary Blog, policy, politics

Some bloggers and activists alerted us to a resolution passed by the House in the state of Delaware on June 30th. The resolution follows. After the text, I’ll explain why the wording may mislead people to make more of this resolution than it merits. Here is the legislation: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES144th GENERAL ASSEMBLYHOUSE RESOLUTION NO. … Continue reading Delaware House Passes Nonbinding Resolution on Protecting People with Cognitive Disabilities from Medical Killing →

New “futile care” promotion includes attack on ADA

Americans with Disabilities Act, bioethics, futile care, lifeboat ethics, medical decisionmaking, Our News & Commentary Blog

I found an “interesting” article from the Kalamazoo Gazette, thanks to Bobby Schindler, who is doing some guest blogging for Wesley Smith while Wesley is on vacation. Bobby has his own valuable insights on the article, but I wanted to write about a couple of things that jumped right out at me. The article is … Continue reading New “futile care” promotion includes attack on ADA →

Shoving us off the lifeboat in a pandemic

bioethics, lifeboat ethics, Our News & Commentary Blog, policy

This alarming bit of “lifeboat ethics” public policy has reached my email through several sources: Who should doctors let die in a pandemic? CHICAGO – Doctors know some patients needing lifesaving care won’t get it in a flu pandemic or other disaster. The gut-wrenching dilemma will be deciding who to let die. Now, an influential … Continue reading Shoving us off the lifeboat in a pandemic →

National Healthcare Decisions Day: Count Me Out

"end of life", advance directives, advocacy, bioethics, Our News & Commentary Blog

In case you missed it, today is National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD). We’re all invited to “join Americans across the country to talk to others about your future healthcare decisions and to complete your advance directive!” We’ll pass, at least when it comes to joining with the coalition promoting this effort. If you check the … Continue reading National Healthcare Decisions Day: Count Me Out →

Taking Credit for Kevorkian’s Ideas: Prisoners and Organ Harvesting

bioethics, Kevorkian, Our News & Commentary Blog, reality check

Greg Dahlmann, at blog.bioethics.net, alerts readers to Graeme Wood’s article arguing that we should permit (in Dahlmann’s words) “death row prisoners to, essentially, die by organ donation.” Wood’s article is titled “Let’s Harvest the Organs of Death-Row Inmates“: But by using what the bioethicist Arthur Caplan calls “the Mayan Protocol”—a term derived from the ancient … Continue reading Taking Credit for Kevorkian’s Ideas: Prisoners and Organ Harvesting →