The ongoing anthrax vaccination case, Doe v Rumsfeld, tests whether the military can require participation in and punish refusal of a vaccination program while waiving informed consent.
A bioethicist argues that children with Down syndrome should not be subjected to cosmetic surgery to change their appearance unless they are at the age and have the capacity to make the decision for themselves.
Physicians who treat children with Down's syndrome should ensure that their parents fully understand the children's capabilities and long-term prognosis and counsel them on the appropriate actions to take regarding their children's care.
Sheldon Zink, PhD, Rachel Zeehandelaar, and Stacey Wertlieb, MBe
The benefits of the international presumed-consent policy are presented as a solution to the United States' current shortage of organs available for transplantation.
Alcoholics should not be subject to deprioritization on a liver transplant waiting list if the belief is held that alcoholism is a disease and not an issue of moral failure for which the patient should be blamed.
A recent journal article calls for a public policy that would require physician-researchers to demonstrate the absence of undue influence or coercion on informed consent.
Professor Richard L. Cupp Jr joins Ethics Talk to discuss his article: “How Might Corporations’ and Nonhuman Animals’ Personhood Compare Under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments?”