Medicine

A recent case highlights the conflict between paternalism and autonomy in the medical field. In what sense might one's decision to pursue an experimental treatment not be one's own?

Developing human/non-human embryos for research and organ transplant raises tough questions about the value of human life and the politics of species taxonomy.

In the debate over vaccination abstention, the right to refuse medical treatment and the right to bodily integrity are in conflict with concerns of justice and public health. How can we make headway in the deadlock?

Emerging healthcare technologies like Rudy, Addison, and PARO should prompt us to reassess the healthcare industry and to contemplate the difference between service and care.

Industrial agriculture has pacified some critics by using Novocaine to ease animal suffering. But what happens when there isn't enough anesthetic to go around? And what's the value of using pain relief for animals set for slaughter?

Informed consent might look like an innocuous legal standard, but it masks a divisive political arena. And the struggle between autonomy and paternalism is not without casualties.

New research involving brain resuscitation holds great promise and presents even greater challenges.

How can we properly attend to the health of both patient and physician when unintended harm occurs?

When we buy fruit at the grocery store, we often fail to realize the intensive and undervalued human labor that goes into growing and harvesting that fruit.

Given the threat to public health, what bar should a claim to philosophical exemption from vaccination need to clear?