State laws prohibiting sodomy were on the books throughout US history until struck down by the US Supreme Court, which argued in Lawrence v Texas (2003) that the state cannot criminalize private sexual conduct.

Some question whether plastic surgeons bear responsibility for promoting suspect norms of beauty, given that certain types of cosmetic enhancements reinforce common conceptions of normality that are harmful to society.

An argument that the concept of judicious dissent can resolve the debate over a physician’s conscience-based right to refuse to provide lawful services.

An argument that an individual physician’s conscience-based decision not to offer specific, lawful medical services should not restrict patients’ access to those services.

The range of opinions on the extent to which physicians should attend to their patients’ spiritual lives and the arguments that support those opinions.

Recent legislative and regulatory actions extend equal protection under the law to members of the LGBT community.

Several recent court cases illustrate how some states are attempting to mandate physician reporting of all underage sexual activity as instances of child abuse.

Religious commitment supports a faith-based health clinic in its efforts to serve the poor patient population in its Chicago community.

US case law protects a woman's right to refuse life-sustaining medical treatment for her fetus on religious grounds.

Physicians need to carefully explain the difficult medical realities of carrying a fetus with severe congenital abnormalities to term but then follow the wishes of a religious family who ask for reasonable medical care.