Jessica Pierce, PhD, Marc Bekoff, PhD, Hope Ferdowsian, MD, MPH, Barbara J. King, PhD, and L. Syd M. Johnson, PhD
Our letter objects to the inclusion, in the April issue, of "Answers to Patient, Student, and Clinician Questions About How Animals Are Slaughtered and Used for Food," by Temple Grandin.
AMA J Ethics. 2023;25(6):E461-463. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2023.461.
The AMA Code and Principles provide guidance on how to educate and counsel patients about meat consumption and about their advocacy roles in reducing meat production.
AMA J Ethics. 2023;25(4):E269-271. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2023.269.
The social institutions of medicine and the state have a complex history of interaction in which doctors have been the originators of political ideals, goals, and social change but equally often have found themselves to be instruments of political authority.
In the United States, 32 percent of live births following IVF are multiple pregnancies, which increase the risks of fetal, maternal, and neonatal morbidities. Fifty percent of twins and more than 90 percent of triplets are born preterm and admitted to the NICU.
Given the well-established correlation across cultures between poverty and unhealthy lifestyles, can it be just to hold individuals responsible for choices typical of their socioeconomic sector? Aren’t patient-responsibility programs simply conspiracies to shrink benefits to the poor?
A major contributor to the lack of medicines in developing countries is an intellectual property regime that allows proprietary drug companies with intellectual property monopolies to charge high prices and maximize profit.