A Christian Call to Action
As we begin the New Year, I have mixed feelings about the ethical direction of American society – a curious combination of unease and hope. Unease, because it appears that Congress and the courts are increasing their efforts to devalue human life and to attack the family. But I also have hope, in the growing [...]
Womb Transplants Now a Step Closer
It’s a development that could take your breath away, and raises interesting and profound questions about our reproductive future. Researchers in London performed womb transplants in five rabbits, a procedure that was successful in two of them. Similar work has also been done recently in other mammals. The surgical technique involved careful connections of blood [...]
A Health Care Horror Story
Catherina Cenzon-DeCarlo is a 35 year-old married mother who works as a nurse at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York. She has worked in the operating room since 2004. When she first applied for her position at Mount Sinai, her supervisor asked if she would be willing to participate in abortions. Ms. Cenzon-DeCarlo, a [...]
Cleaning House
The President’s Council on Bioethics has been disbanded. The White House has told the members last week that their services are no longer required. Appointed in November, 2001 by the Bush Administration, the Council has provided valuable input on some of the most difficult ethical issues in our modern culture. New technologies, both at the [...]
Who is to Blame?
Ellen Goodman is an op-ed columnist for the Boston Globe. Her nationally-syndicated column is usually thoughtful, well-written and balanced. As a liberal, she often critiques social conservative positions. I usually disagree with her, but she always gives me something to think about. That is why I am troubled by her June 5th piece, “The Myth [...]
Courage Takes Many Forms
Prestigious scholar Mary Ann Glendon is the Learned Hand Professor of Law at Harvard, and former U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican. She was informed last December that she was to receive Notre Dame’s Laetare Medal at the university’s annual Commencement exercises, a great honor that she was looking forward to. Then came the news that [...]
The British Cord Blood Dilemma
It’s ironic that the United Kingdom, one of the countries on the forefront of new biomedical research, (including embryo-destructive stem cell research), has no organized system for utilizing one of the best sources of stems cells: umbilical cord blood. Miriam Gonzalez Durantez, the wife of Britain’s Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, found this out in [...]
On Oprah, No Less!
Sometimes the truth has a way of getting out. On March 29th, Michael J. Fox and Dr. Oz were guests on the Oprah show. The topic, of course, was stem cell research. The medical expert used a real preserved brain to show the area of the midbrain affected by Parkinson’s Disease, called the substantia nigra. [...]
The Elephant in the Room
On March 9th, President Obama followed through on a campaign promise and issued an executive order. His signature overturned the ban, established in August, 2001, on government funding of embryo-destructive research. His speech at the signing ceremony was remarkable, not for his action (which was expected), but for what he didn’t say. Here’s an excerpt: [...]
Shifting Standards in International Research Ethics
The Declaration of Helsinki has long been regarded as the leading international standard on human research ethics. Drafted in 1964, the Declaration upholds basic patient rights and governs the business practices of clinical researchers. In spite of the Declaration’s widely accepted ethical authority, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration terminated its reliance on the Declaration [...]
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