Cara Hunt, Ayden Eilmus, and Basel Tarab call for bioethicists to advocate for a permanent ceasefire and protection of medical facilities and personnel in Gaza. __________________________________________ In a recent essay repositioning bioethics to face future challenges, the newly-appointed president and CEO of the Hastings Center for Bioethics Research Dr. Vardit Ravitsky emphasized the need for ..read more

Belinda Alievska warns of the unintended consequences of changing pregnancy loss terminology, highlighting the potential for such shifts to influence reproductive justice debates and intensify emotional burdens. __________________________________________ In a climate where courts, like in the case of LePage v. Center for Reproductive Medicine, are ruling on whether the term “child” includes frozen embryos and ..read more

Serena Yu argues that incorporating culturally and geographically diverse examples of medical atrocities into medical school curriculum helps train students to be ethically vigilant in ways that are respectful of forgotten histories. __________________________________________ Medical professionals swear an oath to save lives, but throughout history some have also committed the most horrendous crimes against humanity. It ..read more

Dylan McKibbon raises the question of how the use of generative AI might impact research ethics and advocates for AI built specifically for medical research in Canada. __________________________________________ ChatGPT, a controversial Large Language Model (LLM) falling under the wider umbrella of generative AI, is the fastest-growing consumer application in history. Despite how little we understand ..read more

Chris Kaposy marks World Down Syndrome Day with examples of leadership and artistic accomplishment by people with Down syndrome. __________________________________________ In 2018, Judge Brett Kavanaugh was seeking confirmation to the US Supreme Court. Kavanaugh was in some trouble, having been accused of committing sexual assault while he was in high school. Kavanaugh defended himself with ..read more

Mark Munsterhjelm raises alarm about the complicity of researchers and suppliers in forensic genetics in the Chinese government’s repression of Indigenous peoples in Xinjiang. __________________________________________ Since 2019, the field of forensic genetics has been in a state of upheaval over research and genetic surveillance done in Xinjiang and Tibet, regions that have been under severe ..read more

Ryan Tonkens illustrates why a heath care system’s location matters for managing the ethical issues arising from the use of artificial intelligence in health care. __________________________________________ Artificial Intelligence (AI) is making waves in health care delivery systems internationally. AI applications are trained using techniques of deep machine learning. Humongous amounts of data (“Big Data”) are ..read more

Rashad Rehman argues that a moratorium against intersex pediatric surgery would be harmful. __________________________________________ With the National Post’s recent publication of Sharon Kirkey’s feature article “What if they guess wrong? Why surgeries to make intersex children look ‘normal’ are so controversial”, I reiterate my call for bioethicists to contribute conceptual clarity to discussions about surgery ..read more

Palmer Montalbano recommends using public policy that reinforces altruism as a solution to the problem that truly informing patients about the risks of participation in cancer research trials would hinder recruitment. __________________________________________ According to recent data from the US, approximately 6% of the thousands of eligible cancer patients sign up for medical research trials. Many ..read more

Pamela White advocates for strong consumer protection regulation of health insurance company use of prior authorizations. __________________________________________ “Prior Authorization” is a management process used by insurance companies to determine if a prescribed product or service will be covered. About 70% of Canadians hold private health benefit plans paying for prescription drugs, non-hospital treatments (e.g. physiotherapy ..read more