By Paola Buedo and Marcin Waligora. All of us have heard about ethics scandals in science: big conflict of interests from high level universities, selective reporting in clinical trials, researchers working with potentially dangerous techniques without any regulatory control, retracted scientific articles, and so on. These scandals have an enormous impact on how society perceives […]
Latest articles
Are we still allowed to teach abortion?
By Ezio Di Nucci. Something “funny” happened to me recently (this was soon after the SCOTUS leak): in reviewing possible changes to our medical ethics curriculum with the team, I made what I thought was the innocent suggestion of including an abortion case study (so far, the only abortion we have been teaching has been […]
Modern bioethical principles – a colonialist holdover or universally applicable?
By Max Ying Hao Lim Are contemporary bioethical practices unequivocally, unconditionally and absolutely universal? Or is the very notion of universality a holdover from a Western-centric colonial ideology seeking to impose ‘best practices’ onto the Global South and other third-world countries? This ‘colonialist’ dilemma is as time-worn as it is fundamental to the modern conception […]
Should doctors be held to higher moral standards than others?
By Daniel Sokol In a highly publicised case, Dr Arora – a general practitioner – was suspended for a month after the Medical Practitioners Tribunal deemed her dishonest for telling a medical colleague that she had been promised a laptop when no such promise had been made. The Tribunal noted that Dr Arora’s exaggeration brought […]
Mandating flu jab, but not COVID-19 jab, ethically justified for healthcare staff
Press release Few side effects; cuts infection risks; minimises staff shortages and presenteeism And professional obligations to patients trump personal freedom, argue ethicists Mandating the flu jab for healthcare staff is ethically justified, but the same can’t be said of the COVID-19 jab, argue leading ethicists in an extended essay published online in the Journal of […]
Too much or too little? A summary of the forum on financial incentives to participants in health and breastfeeding research
By Rasita Vinay and Annina Bauer. On 13th April 2022, the third webinar for the Forum of Global Health Ethics webinar series took place, focusing on the issue of offering financial incentives to participants in health and breastfeeding research. Offering financial incentives to research participants is a common practice in health research; however, its use […]
How much should you trust research ethicists’ warnings about public distrust?
By Nir Eyal In many places around the world, declining levels of public trust in health officials, medical advice, and medical products are causing damages to personal and public health. For example, distrust is a major contributor to the low uptake of COVID-19 vaccination in many countries. Understandably, bioethicists seek to heed the potential of […]
Multifetal pregnancy reduction – why would you do it?
By Gregory K Pike. Multifetal Pregnancy Reduction (MFPR) was initially a response to the high incidence of multiples in Assisted Reproductive Technology. It has even been called “an integral fail-safe of infertility practice”. Its goal was, and mostly still is, to improve outcomes by terminating some fetuses in a multiple pregnancy, on the grounds that […]
When context calls: EFBRI – An Evolving Ethical Framework Informing Breastfeeding Research and Interventions
By Michaela Hefti and Rasita Vinay. Currently, there are no specific ethics guidelines informing biomedical research in breastfeeding and lactation – despite the potentially vulnerable populations involved. On 10 March 2022, EFBRI – An Evolving Ethical Framework Informing Breastfeeding Research and Interventions, was introduced via a LactaWebinar to address this gap and discuss the practical […]
Don’t stop now: Continuing global engagement on pandemic policy
By Nancy S. Jecker, Caesar A. Atuire With rare exceptions, many people around the world have gleefully shed masks and with them, any lingering concerns about catching the novel coronavirus. Maskless and nonchalant, we are boarding planes, shopping, showing up at parties, enjoying entertainment, and going to in-person classes. Proof of vaccination has also fallen […]