Words matter in assisted dying discussions; AI medical transcription warning; double your donation
Latest News
November 21, 2024
"Jump in Kids, We're Taking Grandpa to His Euthanasia." Words matter in the politics of legalizing 'assisted dying'.
The quote above, which was a headline in a Canadian publication, opens a new essay in the Hastings Center Report that examines the impact of word choices on the perception and regulation of assisted dying in different countries. The authors argue that “euphemistic terms like ‘medical assistance in dying’ and its acronym, ‘MAID,’ serve to normalize the practice, potentially obscuring its moral gravity.” Attention to language is necessary, they conclude, “to capture the complexities and ethical significance of assisted dying.” Read the essay.
Warning on Popular AI Medical Transcription Tool It makes up words patients haven't said, study found.
An AI medical transcription tool used by tens of thousands of clinicians at 40 health care systems inaccurately transcribes audio recordings with patients, a study found. Hastings Center President Vardit Ravitsky discussed the findings in an interview with Healthcare Brew, citing questions of accountability and liability for these errors should they result in medical harm. “We don’t have clarity, either legally or ethically, on where the responsibility lies for harm, mistakes,” she said. Read the article.
Preventive Genome Editing: Treatment or Enhancement? The ethical distinction matters, and guidance is needed.
Human genome editing of somatic (non-reproductive) cells to treat diseases such as sickle-cell is widely accepted, but genome editing for human enhancement remains contested. Potentially blurring this distinction is “preventive genome editing,” an emerging area of research that aims to use somatic genome editing to prevent disease. Now is the time to develop research guidance, concludes an article by nine scholars in the Hastings Center Report, including Hastings Center fellows Eric Juengst and Rebecca L. Walker. “If preventive genome editing projects are perceived as pursuing human enhancement, they could face heightened barriers to scientific, public, and regulatory approval.” Read the article.
Coming Soon: Giving Tuesday Your donation can be doubled!
Giving Tuesday is on December 3, and The Hastings Center needs your support to promote ethics in health, science, and tech and help build a better future! When you donate to us for Giving Tuesday, your donation can be DOUBLED! How? A generous donor is willing to match up to $10,000 in donations before December 4th! You can help fuel vital research addressing societal issues such as AI and health care, public health, aging, and environmental impact. Please make a gift today!
Bioethics Must Address War as a Health Crisis. Webinar with Hastings Center President Vardit Ravitsky. December 4.
Ethics at the Very Core of Research and Clinical Practice. Hastings Center President Vardit Ravitsky will present a lecture at the Foundation for Reproductive Medicine conference. December 7.
10th International Bioethics, Multiculturalism, and Religion Workshop. Hastings Center President Vardit Ravitsky will participate in a roundtable discussion on Islamic medical tradition at the workshop, sponsored by the UNESCO Chair in Bioethics and Human Rights. December 17.
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