Should Sick People Pay More to Risk Their Lives

This article is talking about people in hospitals are needing to pay for experimental medicine which may treat their illness better, or kill them. The topic was started after a drug was made for HIV patients. The recently made drug was offered to certain patients. The ethical issue was that the patients will be choosing between medicine that they know already works well enough, or potentially lethal medicine which may work better for their sickness.

Should people who need medicine for an illness, pay more for potentially lethal drugs which could work better?

Thousands in Calif. started school without vaccines

Many children are starting school without the proper vaccines needed because their parents are choosing not to get them the vaccine requirements due to "Medical Exemptions" and "Personal Beliefs Exemption." Medical Exemption is reserved for kids who can are allergic to some vaccines or have auto-immune disorders, this exemption needs extra information and a doctors signature. Personal Belied Exemption is an option that does not need extra information or a doctors signature. A lot of parents are turning to internet and stories heard from friends for health advice and because of this unvaccinated children are increasing. Last year, the whooping cough killed 10 babies and sickened 9,100 people.


Do you think that parents should maintain the right to opt out of having their child vaccinated?

New Australian Passports Allow Third Gender Option

Australia's new passport has a section for be who are either transgendered or lack a sex. On this passport, there will be a section marked with an X for these people. The passport's main purpose, according to an Australian senator, will help prevent gender discrimination. This new passport will also prevent classifying for people, since before this passport was created, people were required to have surgery designed to give a person a specific gender depending on which gender they preferred.

Is there a difference between gender and sex? Does a person's chosen gender lead to gender discrimination?

One Sperm Donor, 150 Sons and Daughters

This article is about the many children that can now be born from a single sperm donor. 150 children were conceived from the sperm of a single donor. Half siblings of children born through artificial insemination can now be tracked on a Web-based registry. As the number of children with similar genes increases, so do the chances of accidental incest between half-siblings. In addition, there is a possibility that genes for rare diseases are being spread throughout the population.

With the onset of artificial insemination, should there be laws governing how many children can be born from a single sperm donor? What would happen to society if all parents chose the same donor because of his superior genes?

Stem Cells

Stem Cell research has been an on-going issue in the U.S. since the 90's. Scientists have been researching the cells to see if they can be used to repair damaged cells that cause Cancer, Parkinson's Disease and Alzheimer's. However, the stem cells are extracted from unborn embryos and that sparked the issue for the study. Pro-Life activists stepped in an said it was morally wrong to take the unborn child's life away, many big U.S. officials agreed. The U.S. Congress passed the Dickey-Wicker Ammendment in 1996 and has renewed it every year since. In 2006, Congress created a bill that expanded research due to people calling in but President Bush vetoed the bill. In 2010, Chief Judge Royce C. Lambert blocked President Obama's executive order to expand Stem Cell research. But now in May of 2011 the Federal appeals pannel appealed the decision and created what will be an extremely lengthy legal battle.

What is wrong about using embryos to come up with cures for serious and fatal diseases or injuries?

'Magic mushroom' drug may improve personality long-term

With advances in technology researchers have been searching and learning about new medicine that can be used. Researchers recently have experimented with hallucinogen psilocybin, it is the active ingredient in a magic mushroom. During the test the ingredient was able to change peoples personality. The scientist want to see if this drug could possibly help cancer patients feel less depressed.



Would being able to buy this type of drug at any store be good or bad for society?

Obstacles Slow an Easy Way to Prevent H.I.V. in Men

In many nations of Africa, men have more than a 60% chance of getting HIV. The international health authorities have concluded on a solution for such an epidemic, which is to circumcise 20 million men, 80 percent of 15-49 year-olds in 14 African countries by 2015. American officials estimate the 80 percent goal would cost $2 billion, but would save $16.5 billion by preventing 4 million infections. The plan is already in place as Kenya is furthest along with 330,000 circumcisions, a third of the government's goal, which exceeds the international health agencies' goal.

Does it intrude human rights to force millions of people to be circumcised?

Euthanasia and Elderly

Many elders, such as, Mary Alice Altorfer, have a great fear of having to use the euthanasia process. Euthanasia which is defined as physician assisted suicide, is often a very controversial topic. This article fights for the right to choose euthanasia. Many elderly people can accept that they have reached a point in there life where they have had enough, and the pain they experience is no longer tolerable.

Many elders would actually like to have the option of euthanasia, as an escape from their pain and suffering. Do you believe they should have such an option? or is life too precious to be taken? If a person is suffering or a 'vegetable,' is that enough reason to defend physician assisted suicide?

Growing Artificial Limbs

The article is about a woman from New Hampshire who sent her cells to a laboratory where scientists regrew her cartilage in her knee. She had such intense pain before surgery that she couldn't drive or walk up stairs; however, after the surgery with the artificial limb, she is able to do these things. This allows her to walk and drive like she could many years ago, but this is not the "original" her.

Should people be allowed to have artificial limbs attached to them? What effects could this have on society?

Guys may have weaker immune response

In this article it debates whether male's tend to have more weaker immune systems than females. They said it is mainly the flu that women won't catch as easily. It also explains why this may be true. Also there is evidence that there might be other virus' that male's don't get as easily.

How might affect males? How might it affect females?

The Cyborg in All of Us

This article talks about connecting technology to neurons, so that people who’ve lost much mobility can still interact with day-to-day life. It mainly concerns imagined speech. For example, if a person hooked up thought of a word, then the cursor on screen would react to that thought. It would also speed up life in general, especially with writing digitally. Instead of physically typing, the devices in the brain would connect the person’s thoughts to the computer and would only have to think about words, and the computer would ‘type’ out what the person is thinking.

How far do you think this will advance? Do you think normal, healthy people will start demanding implants of their own to gain advantages in life?

'Racist' bake sale at UC

At UC Berkley, studends held a bake sale where prices of the pastries depended on race. They claimed that Californians did not want to see ethnicities in college admissions. This was a protest against a pending law which if passed will force universities to accept students not based on race but rather other factors such as extracurricular activities.

Would it be an advantage of disadvantage to admit students only based on academics and other activities and why?

Hospitals refuse to tell parents sex of their unborn babies... because 'staff don't have time'

In this article, hospitals are refusing to tell parents the sex of their unborn babies. Hospitals claim that this is due to staff shortage, and that they’re “too busy to check the sex while carrying out pre-natal scans”, but experts believe that this refusal is really aimed to stamp out selective abortion. Selective abortion can be one of the possible reasons hospitals don’t give out gender information to parents because of its popularity. Among many cultures, female children are being selectively aborted because boys are highly valued.

This article posed a question, which I also thought about:
“Is it ethically right to tell a parent the sex of their unborn child, if you think doing so is going to pose a risk to that baby?”

Should Fast Food Be Banned?

The San Jose City Council rejected a one-year ban on the construction of new fast food restaurants. This proposal of the banning of fast food restaurants is due to the health effects of fast food, which are known to be detrimental. These ailments include obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. However, knowledge of these effects has never stopped humans from purchasing cheap fast food, especially during the hard economic times in the US. This brings up discussions to whether particular restaurants should be banned to aid public health.

Would the banning of fast food restaurants truly be beneficial to society, or would the results mirror those of Prohibition during the early 1900s? Does banning things from society resolve problems in the long-run, or are they just temporary resolutions?

Unnatural Selection: Is Prenatal Testing A Triumph for Reproductive Freedom—or Brazen Discrimination?

In July, about 37 parents and supporters in New Zealand complained about the International Criminal Court accusing their state, and in particular the Minister of Health, of crimes against humanity, because it encourages prenatal screening and selective abortion of unborn babies diagnosed with Down syndrome. It was first discovered last December, when research reported that they could reconstruct fetal DNA taken from the mother’s blood. Being able to analyze the DNA would allow the testing of genetic conditions, for example, one of the most common chromosomal disorders, Down syndrome, earlier in the pregnancy.

New developments in the laboratory show great moral reflection outside of it. Does this improve the human species? Like it or not, we are afforded a lot of liberty when it comes to reproductive decision-making. Is perfection even an entitlement?

Mom with Cancer Loses Custody of Kids

For several months, Alaina Giordano, a North Carolina mom fighting Stage 4 breast cancer, has also been fighting to keep custody of her children. It was ordered that her two children must move to Chicago, 800 miles away from Durham, to live with their father, Kane Snyder, before the start of the school year. Although, Alaina was proven to be their ultimate caregiver, it was not enough for her to keep them. She states, "I'm forced to make a decision between seeing my kids every day and not living as long to be their mom." She has come to believe that she is being discriminated against because of her illness. To this day, she continues to fight for her children and demonstrates how strong women can be.

Should those with diseases have the responsibility or capability to take care of others as well as themselves? Or should they only worry about their own life? Do you agree with the Supreme Court's decision to remove Giordano's children from her custody because of her sickness?

Ethical Issues in Genetics in the Next 100 Years

This article is saying that in 100 years we humans will expierence more dramtical change in genes and we may have a saying whether someone would want a boy or girl as their child. Scientist say this might be true because we are so advance in the study of genetics, and that only time will tell when we would able to choose our genetics. This article is also saying that we might be able to cure all different types of diseases or even cure cancer due to genetically modifying our genes.


Question:
Do you think we will be able to cure every disease in the world with a simple genetic modification?


-Alex Sykulski

Bioethics Professors Challenge Bachmann's HPV Claims

Michele Bachmann, a congresswoman and presidential contender from Minnesota, said that the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is too dangerous for girls to receive. She explained that once her daughter took the vaccine, she contracted mental retardation. Many are encouraging her to provide proof of this situation. Even two bioethics professors are willing to pay $10,000 for the medical evidence to prove that this is true.

How can a lady in such high politics think that she could get away with saying that because of a vaccine to prevent a disease, made her child contract another that can only be contracted through birth, and what was she thinking or wanting out of this?

Gene Therapy Ethics

Summary:

Gene therapy is the name given for when normal or genetically altered genes replace a person’s malfunctioning genes. Although it is still in the years of its infancy, people are beginning to question whether gene therapy is moral/ethical. There are many who are worried about parents genetically altering a babies genes’ even before the baby is born. This forces the rest of society to question if genetically changing the structure of humans is, to simplify it, good or bad for the good of mankind.

Questions posed:

If we alter and change the genes in our children to fit our desires, are we still going to love our children for who they are or for what they are doing? Say that these new alterations of the genes have become reality-will they ultimately destroy our morals and values?

Answer to Neo's question:

In today's world, people want to live longer, healthier, and disease-free lives. Due to this fact, doctors are always trying to find new cures and delays for diseases. They want to see the people happy and enjoying their life. To get to this goal they will go to extreme lengths to try to find a cure for humans, even if it means paying for already sick human beings to try new drugs. Doctors pay people to try these new drugs and vaccines because they will get to see the effects of this drug on humans, not animals.

"Italian court rules couple “too old” for daughter" by Jared Yee

Italian couple, Luigi (70) and Gabriella (57) were rejected to adopt because they were "too old." In response, they conceived now 18-month-old Viola using artificial insemination (the process by which sperm is placed into the reproductive tract of a female and impregnating her for means other than sexual intercourse). They had a "narcissistic need to have a child," and now a court in Italy recommends she is to be put up for adoption.

Question: Is it right to demand adoption for the couple? Is it okay to go through the process of artificial insemination for the couple's purpose, regarding their age?


- Ashlee Mercado

Should Sick People Be Paid to Risk Their Lives?

This article talks about the idea of paying patients to become a test subject for a new drug. It talks about the justifications about paying money for patients to risk using a new drug. It talks about the paradox that if a effective drug is already available, patients will have little reason to volunteer for tests of drugs that could be better. A good example they use is HIV. If there is a medicine that can make people live on for decades, why should they experiment with a new drug?

Question: Why would a doctor pay someone money to try a new drug, if there is already a good drug that can cure them already?

Neo Kim

Designer Babies?

Is it an acceptable use of technology to choose babies based on potential health concerns?  Is it an acceptable use of technology to choose babies based on physical appearance? Do you wish that your parents had changed a trait of yours--either eliminating something that's been difficult or given you some subtle advantage that you don't have? Do think it's a loving decision or a "messed up" decision to have a second (or third or fourth) child to help with the health problems of an earlier child?