The use of interventions claiming to prevent, retard, or reverse aging is proliferating. Some of these interventions can seriously harm older persons and aging baby boomers who consume them. Others that are merely ineffective may divert patients from participating in beneficial regimens and also cause them economic harm. “Free market regulation” does not seem to … Read more

We report on a study of potential sources of therapeutic misconception in early phase gene transfer research, examining how investigators and their consent forms represent the prospect for direct benefit. Our analysis demonstrates that even though half of PIs said they expected direct medical benefit for their subjects, they did not necessarily convey this to … Read more

This study explored the illness experiences of adolescents with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) using Video Intervention/Prevention Assessment (VIA). Five adolescents with IDDM were asked to videotape 8 hours of their lives over a 1-month period. At the conclusion of the study, the primary investigator interviewed each adolescent and their diabetes clinician. VIA visual illness narratives … Read more

The use of aggregated quality of life estimates in the formation of public policy and practice guidelines raises concerns about the moral relevance of variability in values in preferences for health care. This variability may reflect unique and deeply held beliefs that may be lost when averaged with the preferences of other individuals. Feminist moral … Read more

When surgery is performed on pregnant women for the sake of the fetus (MFS or maternal fetal surgery). it is often discussed in terms of the fetus alone. This usage exemplifies what philosophers call the fallacy of abstraction: considering a concept as if it were separable from another concept whose meaning is essentially related to … Read more

The promise and potential of human embryonic stem cell research evoke profound clinical enthusiasm1- 3; the embryonic human origins of such cells warrants an equally profound ethical concern. The ethical issues are not primarily matters of scientific fact nor of political belief. Consequently, these issues cannot adequately be addressed simply by reference to the biology of … Read more

The author praises Sharp and Foster’s differentiation of the forms of “community review,” and agrees that the discussion is far from settled. He argues that rather than attempting to define “community” by various criteria, it might be more helpful to both researchers and research subjects to enable persons to create their own communities: a process … Read more

Genotyping tests for molecular mutations associated with clinical syndromes increasingly allow clinicians to identify health risks before clinical problems occur, sometimes making prevention possible. The clinical use of these tests, however, can create moral problems for families and serious health policy challenges for communities. Those issues, in turn, complicate the professional ethics of genetic testing … Read more

On October 1, 1988, thirty-five years after co-discovering the structure of the DNA molecule, Dr. James Watson launched an unprecedented experiment in American science policy. In response to a reporter’s question at a press conference, he unilaterally set aside 3 to 5 percent of the budget of the newly launched Human Genome Project to support … Read more