Category Archives: Our News & Commentary Blog

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What Happens When Someone Wants Life-Saving Treatment, But Their Guardian Disagrees?

bioethics, Our News & Commentary Blog, Surrogate Decisions & Guardianship

Last summer, we received news about a local guardianship case. It’s the kind of case that deserves greater attention than it got at the time. This particular case was handled by Equip for Equality (EFE), the Illinois organization that is part of the national, congressionally-mandated Protection & Advocacy Network. This is an important case – … Continue reading What Happens When Someone Wants Life-Saving Treatment, But Their Guardian Disagrees? →

Jerry Lewis’ Unforgivable Harm to Young People

media issues, Our News & Commentary Blog, pity, telethon

(Editor’s note: We are participating in the “blog against the telethon,” organized by Miss Crip Chick and Kara Sheridan. For a comprehensive list of links to others blogging against the telethon, please check out Kara Sheridan’s site – she’ll be adding links as the notifications come into her. While you’re at it, you can also … Continue reading Jerry Lewis’ Unforgivable Harm to Young People →

Action Alert: September 3rd is “Blog Against the Telethon Day”

action alert, Our News & Commentary Blog, protests, stereotypes, telethon

(Thanks to Mike Reynolds for the “heads up” on this) From Miss Crip Chick (“just your everyday southern, queer disabled woman of color): Jerry Lewis is the host of the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s Annual Telethon, a telethon that occurs every Labor Day to raise funds for cures by using disabled people as posterchildren. Disabled people … Continue reading Action Alert: September 3rd is “Blog Against the Telethon Day” →

Social Reverse Triage in Washington State

assisted suicide, Our News & Commentary Blog, Washington state

You’ve taken over 300 million breaths in your life. You can’t imagine your next breath being your last. Most of us don’t like thinking about dying. Those who do think about it usually do so in a clinical or academic way. Confronting death for real is hard. Washington Compassion and Choices plans to wage another … Continue reading Social Reverse Triage in Washington State →

NY Times Story on NHBD – Selling instead of Reporting

bioethics, Jane E. Brody, media issues, Our News & Commentary Blog, Ruben Navarro

Given the national publicity surrounding the death of Ruben Navarro, I thought the time could be ripe for a renewed discussion of the ethics surrounding the increasing implementation of the “non heart-beating donor” protocol. According to Maurice Bernstein, on his bioethics discussion blog, there’s a bunch of ethicists discussing whether or not the public is … Continue reading NY Times Story on NHBD – Selling instead of Reporting →