Defending right to cognitive liberty; global warming & bioethics; new reproductive science; AI pause
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** March 16, 2023
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** Should Clinicians Ever Deceive Patients?
Sometimes, Yes. New Framework Maps Moral Terrain
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“I don’t know if it’s ethical, but . . .” said a nurse before she proposed giving a placebo to a patient who had asked for his opioid dose to be increased—and who could not comprehend the harms he would suffer if his request was met. This is one of several situations in which doctors and nurses wondered whether it would be ethical to deceive or even lie to patients or their family members, discussed in four articles in the latest Hastings Center Report. The lead article proposes a framework to help clinicians figure out the degree to which a deception could be ethically justified: the target of the act, the nature of the information, the nature of the act, and the context. Read more ([link removed]) .
Commentaries on the framework are here ([link removed]) , here ([link removed]) , and here ([link removed]) .
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** Triumphs and Gaps at International Human Genome Editing Summit
Leading Bioethicists Discuss Takeaways
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At the just-concluded summit on human genome editing, the scandal of China’s CRISPR babies was fresh in the minds of many. But there was exciting news about research on gene editing therapies for treating serious illnesses. Two bioethicists who attended the summit—Françoise Baylis and Ben Hurlbut—spoke with Hastings Center senior research scholar Josephine Johnston about the encouraging experimental use of gene editing to treat sickle cell disease, and they also highlighted the gaps in attention to ethical issues, such as how “million-dollar” gene editing therapies can be made available to people who need them. Watch the discussion ([link removed]) .
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** Chinese Bioethics After the CRISPR Babies Scandal; ChatGPT in Medicine
From Hastings Bioethics Forum
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“Is Chinese Bioethics Ready to Move Forward from the CRISPR Baby Scandal?” To what extent has China’s bioethics community addressed gaps exposed by the CRISPR Baby scandal and prepared to prevent further human gene editing research misconduct? Bioethicists Joy Y. Zhang, who spoke at the International Human Genome Editing Summit last week, and Ruipeng Lei, a Hastings Center fellow, assess what China’s government and bioethicists have done and the considerable work that remains. Read the essay ([link removed]) .
“ChatGPT in the Clinic? Medical AI Needs Ethicists.” Sophisticated chatbots powered by programs such as ChatGPT have brought us closer to the possibility of AI becoming a primary source in providing medical diagnoses and treatment plans. The insight of ethicists is sorely needed, writes Emma Bedor Hiland. Read the essay ([link removed]) .
** Upcoming Events
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"The Battle for Your Brain," March 30 ([link removed]) .
"'Binocularity': A Conceptual Tool for Comprehending and Respecting Persons," April 6 ([link removed]) .
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The Hastings Center seeks to ensure responsible health and science policy and practice. We work to secure the wisest possible use of emerging technologies and fair, compassionate, and just health care for people across their lifespan.
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