Issues in Law & Medicine最新文献

Unprecedented efforts are made to research and develop technologies that are directly connected to the brain and allow us to access, monitor, investigate, assess, manipulate or stimulate neural processes. This exciting development holds many valuable prospects in the medical context and in other fields of daily life such as entertainment, security or criminal justice. However, it also raises major concerns among ethicists and human rights advocates, who argue that fundamental interests are put at risk as these neurotechnologies result in a growing accessibility and influenceability of the mind. In this article, I will describe how neurotechnologies may affect fundamental interests and how this concern led to the emergence of the concept of neurorights within human rights doctrine and policy. I will first outline the current state of the art and the prospects of neurotechnology, and discuss how this technology impacts the mind. Second, I will examine how this in turn may impact our mental privacy, autonomy, authenticity, personal identity, the self, and non-discrimination. Finally, I will show how these concerns prompted initiatives to establish neurorights as new human rights offering appropriate legal safeguards that protect the human mind against unwanted interference by neurotechnology.

The first thousand days of life, composing the 270 days of pregnancy and the first two years (730 days) of life, is at once a critical and vulnerable time for human development. It is a time in which the human person is to a large extent "embodied," becoming the integrated mind-brain-body-spirit that defines every human being. This embodiment is set in motion at fertilization and continues with the unfolding development of the embryo. By six weeks in utero, the brain is forming via ongoing neurogenesis, neuronal migration, synaptogenesis, and myelination. By the age of two the brain will be 80 percent of its adult size. As the brain develops, it connects to other developing body systems including the immune, endocrine, metabolic, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular and musculoskeletal systems. In this process of interconnection, a human being is shaped by both internal and external environments, both at the stage of the fetus and the stage of the infant. Human well-being and flourishing depends upon making these first thousand days as safe, secure, and healthy as possible. Physician practices, local health policy, and global health advocacy should focus on optimizing the first thousand days. This should include pre-conception care, pregnancy, safe birth, infant nutrition and fostering secure emotional and relational attachments.

The U.S. Roman Catholic bishops have been earnest participants in the contemporary public policy debate on abortion. This article reviews the bishops' main policy documents in which the Church's teaching on abortion is applied, first, within the context of the debate on abortion policy that was underway in the states before Roe v. Wade, and, second, within the grave and challenging situation thereafter when a right to abortion was made the law of the land. Whether discussing court cases, statutory law, human life bills, or various proposals to amend the Constitution, the bishops raised up a broad vision of full protection in law for all human beings, born and unborn, and promoted a comprehensive program of education, pastoral care, public policy, and prayer. Building off this review the article concludes with some initial reflections on the Dobbs world in which the Court has returned the abortion issue to the people and their elected representatives.

The case of Alta Fixsler, where a judge ruled that withdrawing life sustaining care was in her best interest rather than transferring her to Israel, as her parents wanted, is the latest in a series of controversial paediatric best interest decisions. Using this case, as well as some other recent cases, I argue that the UK exhibits a high degree of medico-legal paternalism in best interest decisions, even though paternalism seems to be ubiquitously negatively perceived in medical ethics. Firstly, I explain what I mean by medico-legal paternalism and defend my claim that this phenomenon is present in the UK. I then argue that at least philosophically (rather than legally) such a situation is impossible to justify in a secular state and that how we treat paediatric best interest decisions is very different from other areas of medical law. Lastly, I discuss proposals that aim to rectify this situation.

Overwhelming evidence from 168 studies over fifty years points to a clear dose-response relationship between surgical abortion and subsequent preterm birth. The 2018 National Academy of Sciences report considered only five of these 168 studies and represents a biased sample that underreports a significant association between surgical abortion and subsequent preterm birth. The purpose of this document is to review the quality of the data on this effect, review the size of this effect, and portray an accurate assessment of the data to improve informed consent prior to surgical abortion.

In line with the Oath of Hippocrates, the American Medical Association (AMA) code of ethics states that the duty to advocate for the patient is paramount. However, many instances in healthcare expose a discrepancy between the needs of society and the needs of individual patients. Given that society is merely a collection of individuals, one's personal physician is uniquely qualified to devise solutions that can resolve that conflict. This essay will discuss the potential overreach of public health interventions and solutions that ethically serve societal interests to help physicians maintain their duty to individual patients' health and confidentiality.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) is the default professional organization for obstetricians and gynecologists in the United States. Unfortunately, ACOG's policy and treatment of abortion is more radical than a large section of the country's obstetricians and gynecologists. ACOG has functionally ceased to represent this section of physicians, as its voice no longer speaks in unison with theirs. Worse still, ACOG has actively opposed obstetricians and gynecologists who do not agree with their radical policy, or who advocate for individual rights to choose not to refer for abortion. This document describes ACOG's abortion policy and outlines the events that led to non-representation.

Children currently comprise just under 23% of our population but remain 100% of our future. It is therefore incumbent on us to ensure the most healthful future possible for them. This paper presents an evidence-based "K-12 Standard for Optimal Sexual Development" to encourage the education of children about sex risk avoidance (SRA) behaviors such as monogamy, relationship skills, and healthy psychological traits as an alternative to Comprehensive Sex Education (CSE) which is not based on age-appropriate sexual milestones or behaviors.

One in every 10,000 children is born with SMA and half of them will not even live two years. It is a hereditary genetic disorder, where the muscles die. If it is discovered just after birth, newborns can get the newest medicines to maintain their health. Unlike some other common genetic diseases (e.g. Down-Syndrome), SMA can be screened prior to pregnancy to determine whether the parents are carriers. In Hungary, people have urged reform, due to the baby Zente case, whose story has reached millions. Australia and Germany have also discovered the need for screenings. However, the US has already introduced newborn screening for SMA, far ahead of European countries. National policies should adhere to the same path to contribute to appropriate family planning and to make the treatment available as soon as needed to provide a longer and better life for sick infants.