New Sadler Scholars; embryo screening, pediatric gender-affirming care
June 13, 2024
Hastings Center Welcomes 2024-25 Sadler Scholars They are doctoral students from underrepresented groups.
The Hastings Center has selected seven doctoral students as the 2024-2025 Sadler Scholars. “This is a remarkable cohort—two neuroscientists, a computational geneticist, a Rhodes Scholar, a researcher studying the intersection of machine learning and digital health technologies, and two social scientists doing global health research, says Hastings Center senior research scholar Nancy Berlinger, who helped found the initiative. Meet the new Sadler Scholars.
Polygenic Embryo Screening: The Promise and Perils of Selecting our Children's Traits Hastings president discusses new choices prospective parents face.
All prospective parents want the best for their children, but should they turn to companies that will screen their embryos for more than a thousand genetic risks (heart disease, schizophrenia) and traits (height, educational attainment) and then rate the embryos to help determine which ones to implant? Hastings Center President Vardit Ravitsky discussed this question in a fascinating conversation with Hastings Center fellow Insoo Hyun of the Museum of Science, Boston. Ravitsky said that this testing is not “ready for prime time” and raised several ethical concerns, such as the idea that polygenic screening might be “portrayed as the responsible way to have children.” Watch the webinar.
What Is the Aim of Pediatric Gender-Affirming Care? Evidence and ethics are assessed.
Puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgery are intended to improve the mental and physical health of pediatric patients experiencing distress over their sexed bodies, but recent research has questioned the scientific evidence for these interventions, leading to significant international differences in what treatments are offered to youth. Against this backdrop, a different argument has emerged in support of gender-affirming care: it appeals not to reductions in morbidity and mortality but to patient autonomy. Writing in the Hastings Center Report, Moti Gorin of Colorado State University raises objections to this argument, concluding that it misunderstands the place of autonomy in clinical decision-making and, consequently, puts patients at risk of medical harm. Read the article.
Bringing Bioethics to Policymakers: Learning from Experience, Hastings senior research scholar Nancy Berlinger speaks at this Greenwall Foundation webinar. June 17.
Harmful Mutation: Addressing Misuse, Misapplication, Misinterpretation of Genetics, a symposium organized by Hastings Center presidential scholar Lucas Matthews for the BGA Annual Meeting in London.June 28.
A Model for the Ethics of International Bioethics Conferencing, a talk by Hastings Center President Vardit Ravitsky at the Oxford Conference on Global Health and Bioethics. July 9-10.
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