The paradox of organ donation consent
In Australian newspapers today a Melbourne intensive care physician, Jim Tibballs is reported as criticising current organ donation guidelines on the grounds that donors are not actually dead at the time that organs are removed. Other docto…
Read MoreDrop the cane and listen!
In my last blog I commented on the call for virtuous behaviour and reliable role models in troubled times. My example then was the financial crisis but I would like to continue this theme as I believe I have spotted a similar move in anothe…
Read MoreSaving pennies and saving premmies
Do the different staffing levels reflect a different priority for newborn infants in the allocation of health resources? Are there relevant differences that would justify a lower staffing level in newborn intensive care compared to adult or…
Read MoreProtectionist deities vs. the economy of fun: ownership of virtual possessions
Do players in online games have a right to their virtual possessions? As discussed by Erin Hoffman in an essay the matter is a legal quagmire. Real money is involved, people have assaulted each other over virtual thefts, China now recognize…
Read MoreWhy the cheating objection to smart drugs doesn’t work
The BBC reports today that increasing numbers of people are using prescription drugs like Ritalin—intended as a treatment for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)—to boost alertness and brain power. Reports of…
Read MoreThe voluntary termination of pregnancy: a snapshot of the Italian situation
The Italian law governing the voluntary termination of pregnancy is very often brought into question. This law, proclaimed in May 1978 (Italian Law 194/1978), doesn’t admit a right to abortion, but allows the termination of pregnancy in som…
Read MoreBailing out banks
Last week the US congress agreed to a US$7 billion bail-out for the banking sector. This Tuesday, the UK government followed suit with its own bail-out – though with some fairly serious strings attached. In the US case in particular, …
Read MoreIf evolution grinds to a halt, we move on
According to professor Steve Jones human evolution is grinding to a halt. The reason is, at least in the developed world, we have so good living standards and hence low mortality that we are not suffering any selection. He also argues that …
Read MoreIdentifying Sperm Donors, Genetic Privacy and Public Benefit: How to Have Your Cake and Eat It Too
A story in today’s Daily Mail reveals some of the harms experienced by children born to sperm donors. Since 2005, children born to sperm donors have had access to the identity of the man who donated sperm that created them. But prior to tha…
Read MoreTime to get virtuously enhanced?
In the media coverage of the global finance crisis over the last weeks there has been a massive call for a revival of the virtues. Everyone from the Archbishop of Canterbury to tabloid journalists has condemned the behaviour of finance indu…
Read More