The other woman: Evaluating the language of ‘three parent’ embryos

The British Parliament has recently approved regulations to allow techniques ‘to prevent the transmission of serious mitochondrial disease from a mother to her child’. The regulations term these techniques ‘mitochondrial donation’, but in the popular media, the issue has been discussed under the heading of ‘three parent’ babies or ‘three parent’ embryos. This paper examines the language of the debate, with particular reference to one of the techniques approved. It concludes that the terminology of ‘mitochondrial donation’ is scientifically inaccurate and ethically misleading, while the popular media description of ‘three parent’ embryos is broadly accurate, at least for one technique. This latter phrase also has the great merit, from an ethical perspective, of drawing attention to the ‘other woman’, the egg donor. She takes risks with her health in order to provide the egg which supplies the body of the embryo. Without her, this embryo simply would not exist

An unholy mess: why ‘the sanctity of life principle’ should be jettisoned

The aim of this article is to present an account of an important element of medical ethics and law which is widely cited but is often confused. This element is most frequently referred to as ‘the principle of the sanctity of life’, and it is often assumed that this language has a religious provenance. However, the phrase is neither rooted in the traditions it purports to represent nor is it used consistently in contemporary discourse. Understood as the name of an established ‘principle’ the ‘sanctity of life’ is virtually an invention of the late twentieth century. The language came to prominence as the label of a position that was being rejected: it is the name of a caricature. Hence there is no locus classicus for a definition of the terms and different authors freely apply the term to divergent and contradictory positions. Appeal to this ‘principle’ thus serves only to perpetuate confusion. This language is best jettisoned in favour of clearer and more traditional ethical concepts

Infant Male Circumcision: A Catholic theological and bioethical analysis

Infant male circumcision (IMC) has become controversial among Catholics and many have criticised the practice of routine IMC, still widely performed in the United States. Others have gone further, claiming that circumcision has been condemned explicitly by the Church and criticising IMC as ‘mutilation’ and hence prohibited implicitly by Catholic moral principles. However, closer examination of the Catholic tradition shows that the Church regards IMC as having been a means of grace under the Old Covenant and, more importantly, in the flesh of Jesus. This positive theological account of IMC cannot be evaded by invoking a supposed historical distinction between milah (a token cut) and periah (the complete removal of the foreskin). The Church has never condemned IMC as mutilation, and while IMC carries some risk, there is no evidence that it inflicts per se disabling mutilation. A reasonable body of medical opinion regards IMC as conferring net health benefits

How does legalization of physician assisted suicide affect rates of suicide?

Objectives: Several US states have legalized or decriminalised physician assisted suicide (PAS) whilst others are currently considering permitting PAS. Although it has been suggested that legalization could plausibly lead to a reduction in total suicides and to a delay in those suicides which do occur, to date no research has tested whether these effects can be identified in practice. The aim of this paper was to fill this gap by examining the association between the legalization of PAS and state-level suicide rates in the USA between 1990 and 2013. Methods: We used regression analysis to test the change in rates of non-assisted suicides and total suicides (i.e. including assisted suicides) before and after legalization of PAS. Results: Controlling for various socio-economic factors, unobservable state- and year effects, and state-specific linear trends, legalizing PAS was associated with a 6.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.70%, 9.9%) increase in total suicides (i.e. including assisted suicides). This effect was larger in the over 65s (14.5%, CI = 6.4%, 22.7%). Introduction of PAS was not associated with a reduction in non-assisted suicide rates, nor with an increase in the mean age of non-assisted suicide. Conclusion: Legalizing PAS has been associated with an increased rate of total suicides relative to other states and no decrease in non-assisted suicides. This suggests either that PAS does not inhibit (nor acts as an alternative to) non-assisted suicide, or that it acts in this way in some individuals but is associated with an increased inclination to suicide in other individuals. Funding: The authors received no funding for this research beyond the salaries paid by their respective institutions

The appeal to the Christian tradition in the debate about embryonic stem cell research

This paper focuses on an argument that has been invoked in the stem cell debate: appeal to the Christian tradition. Bishop Richard Harries has put forward the claim that the Christian tradition offers precedent that would give ethical justification for experimenting on human embryos. In contrast, Pope John Paul II has claimed that the tradition unwaveringly supported the protection of the human embryo from deliberate harm. In favour of Pope John Paul’s reading of the Christian tradition is the fact that Christianity was notable from the outset for its wholehearted opposition to abortion. Bishop Harries can point to three elements in the tradition that seem to qualify the absolute prohibition on abortion: (1) variable penalties for abortion; (2) belief in delayed ensoulment; (3) abortion to save the mother’s life. Nevertheless, detailed consideration of the tradition shows that these apparent qualifications do not provide precedent for destructive experiments on human embryos

Faithfully transgender

This article looks at emerging Church teaching on transgender issues, and emphasises Pope Francis' call for pastoral support of trans people. David Albert Jones is a consultant ethicist and professorial fellow at St Mary's University, and Claire Jenkins is a Catholic trans woman engaged in academic research and educational resourcing