Professional society guidelines can be used to set standards for clinical practice instead of government. This approach could help if federal or state policymakers view discarding embryos as ethically equivalent to abortion.
AMA J Ethics. 2018; 20(12):E1160-1167. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.1160.
Clinically and ethically relevant questions are related to patient safety, therapeutic efficacy, equitable access, and global governance over humanity’s genetic legacy.
AMA J Ethics. 2019; 21(12):E1079-1088. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2019.1079.
Gene editing reminds professionals and the public that this technology’s reach goes beyond treating somatic disease to germline consequences yet unknown.
AMA J Ethics. 2019; 21(12):E1056-1058. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2019.1056.
Not all cultural traditions have the same conception of personhood. In Confucianism, self-individuation takes place only through engagement with others in the context of one’s social roles and relationships.
The history of Western medicine chronicles a tension between ideologies of patient care—the holistic Hippocratic view and the specialization view, with a depersonalization of the patient that coincides with the rise of pathologic anatomy in the early modern era.
The DSM-5 Task Force’s handling of the ethical controversy over the bereavement exclusion demonstrates the need for more inclusive deliberative processes.
AMA J Ethics. 2017; 19(2):192-198. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.2.pfor2-1702.
Dichotomies, such as reconstructive vs aesthetic surgery and medical vs cosmetic dermatology, can distort meanings of surgical procedures. This can compromise the value of procedures themselves and practices for their reimbursement.
AMA J Ethics. 2018; 20(12):E1188-1194. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.1188.
Women who are pregnant might not treat their mental illnesses because they overestimate risks of medication and underestimate risks of leaving their illness untreated.
AMA J Ethics. 2016; 18(6):614-623. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2016.18.6.stas1-1606.