Health Care and Letting Die

[ADMINISTRATIVE NOTE: The issue at hand in this post is whether people have positive rights. Please focus comments on that issue.]
The following exchange developed here. Since the issue deserves attention in and of itself, here it is, beginning with a proposed answer to the question “Should we let a cancer patient die just because s/he [...]

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“One Nation, Uninsured: The Ethics of National Health Insurance Coverage”

Here is the abstract for Kenneth Brummel-Smith ’s plenary session at this Saturday’s conference:
The concept of universal health insurance coverage is vastly popular. The big question is what system should be used to achieve it – private, employer-based coverage, a public-private mixture, or a single payer system. Most of the debate about the choices is [...]

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“Reckless Justice: Some of the Follies of National Health Insurance”

Here is the abstract for Tristram Engelhardt ’s plenary session at this Saturday’s conference:
All over the world, national health insurance systems are in crisis. Because they face the challenges of the moral hazard (people using all benefits to which they are entitled, even when the use is minimally beneficial), the political hazard (politicians promising benefits [...]

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CFP: Practical and Professional Ethics

The Association for Practical and Professional Ethics invites submissions from students for its 19th Annual Meeting (March 4-7, 2010):
Submissions are invited on ethical issues in various fields (e.g., public administration, law, the environment, accounting, engineering, computer science, research ethics, business, medicine, health care, journalism, higher education) and on issues that cut across professions. Special consideration [...]

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Call for Papers: “Spirituality in Action: Bringing Transpersonal Psychology to a World in Crisis”

I though this might be relevant for those working on Environmental Ethics, Philosophy of Religion, and/or Moral Psychology. Best of Luck!

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H.M. Dies at 82

A famous participant in neuroscience research, H.M., died last week. NYT reports:
In 1953, he underwent an experimental brain operation in Hartford to correct a seizure disorder, only to emerge from it fundamentally and irreparably changed. He developed a syndrome neurologists call profound amnesia. He had lost the ability to form new memories.
For the next 55 [...]

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Bioethics Conference

The 11th Annual National Undergraduate Bioethics Conference
“Bioethics: The New Issues”
at Harvard University
March 13-14, 2009
Presented by the Harvard Undergraduate Bioethics Society
Are you interested in hearing Peter Singer, Steven Hyman, Jim Kim, or Leon Eisenberg speak?
Would you like to attend panel discussions on Neuroethics, Organ Markets, Medical Ethics and Reproductive Technology with experts in the field? Would [...]

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Cognitive Disability: A Challenge to Moral Philosophy

It’s a flurry of podcasts! Here’s information about the conference these podcasts come from:
“Cognitive Disability: A Challenge to Moral Philosophy” will explore philosophical questions about three specific populations — people with autism, Alzheimer’s disease, and those labeled “mentally retarded.” We will raise ethical and foundational questions regarding both theoretical and practical matters. The areas to [...]

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A Brief Guide to the Hippocratic Oath

Here’s an interesting BBC article by medical ethicist Daniel Sokol that gives a brief guide to the Hippocratic Oath.

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Pediatric Bioethics Conference

Friday, October 11- Saturday, October 11th, 2008
Jacksonville, FL
Presented by the Wolfson Children Hospital with the University of North Florida and the Florida Bioethics Network. Also, you can expect to see two of our very own UNF professors: Dr. Alissa Swota and Dr. Julie Ingersoll!

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On Organs and the Mighty $$.

Last night, on the eve of Saint Valentine’s Day, I had the pleasure of attending a colloquium featuring the distinguished professor William LaFleur (University of Pennsylvania). He visited the University of North Florida and gave a guest lecture on the “Desires of the Dying: Japanese Qualms about the Bioethics of our Time”.

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Philosophy Soup

Our friends at Philosophy@Utah State have an interesting discussion going that seems related to the Epicurus discussion we had going here last month: Religious Authenticity.
The Space of Reasons, previous Philosophers’ Carnival host, always has great discussion. The most recent post is: Lottery Argument Against Defeasible Evidence – a must for anyone interested in Epistemology.
A [...]

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Ethics Symosium on End of Life Issues

… at UCF, Wednesday, April 25th.
- Rico Vitz

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Life-Sustaining Treatment, Terminal Sedation, and Euthanasia

A currently debated issue in bioethics is whether the presently legal practices of withholding and withdrawing of life-sustaining treatment (hereafter WWLST) and terminal sedation will lead to the more controversial practice of euthanasia. In the following post I will give a brief description of WWLST and terminal sedation and give a few reasons why they [...]

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