'commentary' Category
Does Ethics Apply in a Petri Dish?
By Center for Bioethics Fellow Dr. Heather Kuruvilla: Most people think of cell biologists as bench scientists who grow things in little dishes. As a university professor training future cell biologists, I wondered about my students’ perceptions of the need for an ethical framework. I asked my advanced students for their feedback on the pressing [...]
Center Highlights Top Student Papers in Bioethics
The Fall Edition of CedarEthics Online, our Web-based journal of top undergraduate student papers in bioethics, is now available. This edition features two new contributions : 1) Tia Zirkle’s piece, “The Tao and the Art of Feminine Beauty,” is a thoughtful reflection on Elizabeth Elliot, C.S. Lewis, natural law, and femininity. 2) Christina Kinch, in [...]
Center for Bioethics Announces Academy of Fellows
The Center for Bioethics is pleased to announce its new Academy of Fellows, six Cederville faculty from a variety of disciplines, working together with director Dennis Sullivan to engage contemporary bioethics issues. Center Fellows: Sharon Christman, PhD, Professor of Nursing Charles Dolph, PhD, Professor of Psychology Shawn Graves, PhD, Assistant Professor of Philosophy Jeffrey Lewis, PharmD, Assistant [...]
Continued Progress with Adult Stem Cells
By Center for Bioethics Fellow Dr. Heather Kuruvilla. A recent update reminds us that applications of adult stem cells to treat human diseases continue to progress. Cellerix is a biotechnology company that has adult stem cells in various stages of human testing. This means we may see new therapies on the market within a few [...]
Bad Ethics in the Name of Compassion
In a recent broadcast of the 700 Club, the Reverend Pat Robertson shocked many of his listeners with his response to a plaintive letter from the friend of a husband whose spouse has Alzheimer’s Disease (link). The man’s wife no longer recognized him, and he claimed that his wife as he knows her is gone. [...]
Top Student Papers in Bioethics
Volume 10, Issues 1 and 2 of CedarEthics Online is now available. Each year for the past ten years, CE Online has published outstanding student papers in bioethics from the previous academic year. Publication in this online format is by invitation only, and represents written research of unusual quality and broad interest. The newest papers [...]
Abortion or Murder?
A recent post at the “Ohio Life Wire” blog points out a strange irony for our times. A man from the Columbus area recently pled guilty to attempted murder. His crime? He tried to force his girlfriend at gunpoint to have an abortion against her will. When they arrived at the abortion facility, she passed [...]
Conscience Rights Under Attack
The Council of Europe, composed of 47 member countries, will soon debate a resolution to “regulate the right of conscientious objection” in health care. If the resolution passes, this would have chilling effects for European health care professionals. The measure outlines three key provisions in regard to abortion: 1) The obligation to perform the procedure [...]
Stem Cell Showdown
In a dramatic ruling, a federal district court judge has blocked the Obama administration’s new guidelines on embryonic stem cell research. Judge Royce C. Lamberth issued a temporary injunction on August 23rd to prevent federal funding of embryo-destructive research, this in spite of an executive order by the president to permit this. Judge Lamberth’s decision [...]
Ella: Bad News for Women and Families
A French drug company has developed a new “morning-after” pill, according to the Washington Post. Marketed under the brand name of ella, proponents have described it as emergency contraception for up to five days. Now you may recall that a drug called “Plan B” (levonorgestrel) is already on the market, and is in fact available [...]
