Human Non-persons, Feticide, and the Erosion of Dignity

Feticide, the practice of terminating the life of an otherwise viable fetus in utero, has become an increasingly common practice in obstetric centres around the globe, a concomitant of antenatal screening technologies. This paper examines this expanding practice in light of the concept of human dignity. Although it is assumed from the outset that even viable human fetuses are not persons and as such do not enjoy full membership in the moral community, it is argued that the fact that these are nevertheless human fetuses affords them prima facie moral status. Thus even those who accept a liberal position with regard to therapeutic abortion, should be concerned about these more recent developments. Indeed, how we treat viable human fetuses has implications for our prospective treatment of other human non-persons and could undermine the common human dignity we all share

Reflections on the Cost of Low-Cost Whole Genome Sequencing: Framing the Health Policy Debate

The cost of whole genome sequencing is dropping rapidly. There has been a great deal of enthusiasm about the potential for this technological advance to transform clinical care. Given the interest and significant investment in genomics, this seems an ideal time to consider what the evidence tells us about potential benefits and harms, particularly in the context of health care policy. The scale and pace of adoption of this powerful new technology should be driven by clinical need, clinical evidence, and a commitment to put patients at the centre of health care policy

Research Ethics Recommendations for Whole-Genome Research: Consensus Statement

Interest in whole-genome research has grown substantially over the past few months. This article explores the challenging ethics issues associated with this work

Play-the-Winner Rule and Adaptive Designs of Clinical Trials

In another paper, we have argued that the traditional randomized design of clinical trials is ethically infeasible in desperate medical situations and adaptive designs are morally required. We have also argued that in such situations, the appropriate designs must satisfy what we call the “Principle of interchangeability.” In this statistics paper, we show that the statistical model of bandit processes satisfies this principle of interchangeability. Moreover, we demonstrate that when such a model is used as an adaptive design, the total regret of successes lost is smaller when compared with simple randomization. We illustrate the results by the simple deterministic play-the-winner design

In a Familiar Voice: The Dominant Role of Women in Shaping Canadian Policy on Medical Assistance in Dying

Among the many remarkable aspects of the June 2016 introduction of legislation to permit medical assistance in dying (MAiD) in Canada, is the central and even dominant role that women have played in moving this legislation forward, and their ongoing influence as the law continues to be reviewed and revised. The index medical cases on which the higher courts have deliberated concern women patients, and the legal decisions in the various courts have been presided over by women justices. Since the legislation has become law in Canada, women have been among the most vocal and enthusiastic proponents for expanding the criteria to ensure MAiD is more accessible to more Canadians. In this paper, I discuss how the voice of women in this debate is not the ‘different voice’ of second wave feminism first articulated by Carol Gilligan and then adapted and expanded in the ethics of care and relational ethics literature. Instead it is the very familiar voice of the ethics of personal autonomy, individual rights and justice which feminist critics have long decried as inadequate to the task of articulating a comprehensive social morality. I argue for the need to reassert the different voice of relational ethics and the ethics of care into our ongoing discussion of MAiD.Parmi les nombreux aspects remarquables de l’introduction, en juin 2016, d’une législation permettant l’aide médicale à mourir (AMM) au Canada, on peut citer le rôle central et même dominant que les femmes ont joué pour faire avancer cette législation, et leur influence permanente alors que la loi continue d’être examinée et révisée. Les cas médicaux indexés sur lesquels les tribunaux supérieurs ont délibéré concernent des patientes, et les décisions juridiques des différents tribunaux ont été présidées par des femmes juges. Depuis que la loi est entrée en vigueur au Canada, les femmes ont été parmi les plus virulentes et les plus enthousiastes partisanes de l’élargissement des critères afin de garantir que l’AMM soit plus accessible à un plus grand nombre de Canadiens. Dans cet article, j’explique comment la voix des femmes dans ce débat n’est pas la “voix différente” du féminisme de la deuxième vague, d’abord exprimée par Carol Gilligan, puis adaptée et développée dans la littérature à l’éthique des soins et l’éthique relationnelle, mais plutôt la voix très familière de l’éthique de l’autonomie personnelle, des droits individuels et de la justice, que les critiques féministes ont longtemps décrié comme inadéquate pour articuler une morale sociale globale. Je plaide pour la nécessité de réaffirmer la voix différente de l’éthique relationnelle et de l’éthique des soins dans notre discussion actuelle sur l’AMM

Genetics, Identity, and Justice- DNA and Indigeneity Symposium

Drawing on some recent cases from Newfoundland and Labrador (e.g. repatriation of Beothuk remains; membership in the Qalipu Mi’kmaq ‘landless’ tribe), this presentation explores differing notions of identity (e.g. genetic, cultural, and otherwise) as well as various conceptions of justice (distributive, compensatory, retributive, restorative) relating them to issues of repatriation, tribal identity, and land claims. Dr. Daryl Pullman is Professor of Medical Ethics at Memorial University of Newfoundland, and an IPinCH research team member.&nbsp