Welcome to PHI213

Welcome to the GateWay Community College Bioethics blog. The purpose of this blog is to share information about recent scientific advancements and their impact on medical and bioethics, and to debate classic and current ethical dilemmas. Enjoy!

Organ Allocation (PP15)

Policies that guide the distribution or allocation of organs have always been controversial. Please read the articles below and discuss how organs should be allocated and why?

Ethics of Organ Transplants (About.com summary)
The Waiting Game (PBS)
Distributing Donor Organs (PBS)
United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS)
About Organ Allocation (Transplant Living)
Organ Allocation Issues (Miracosta College)
Controversies in Organ Donation (Nephrology, Dialysis, Transplantation Journal)
Infant Heart Transplant Controversy (US News)
Human Organs for Sale (New Internationalist)
Do US Hospitals Push Organ Black Market (CBS News)
So What About Mickey Mantle (Wordpress Donate Life Blog)
Natalie Cole Kidney came From Deceased Fan (CNN)
Jobs Travel to Transplant Mecca Shows System Flaws (Bloomberg)
Britain to Outlaw Most Private Organ Donations (Yahoo! News)

Medical Regulation (PP14)

Read the background articles (below) on controversial Mississippi Medical Examiner, Steven Hayne. Should the government do more to regulate the credentials and behavior of health practitioners working with the dead? Why or why not? What are the underlying philosophical issues in this particular situation. Defend your position.

Articles:
From Reason Online -
One
Two
Three
From Slate -
One

Healthcare - Right or Privilege (PP13)

Is health care a right of all Americans? Why or why not? Should coverage be universal? How should coverage be paid? What universal principles should be applied in determining costs and coverages? Defend your position.

Health Care Systems (PP12)

Compare and contrast the healthcare systems discussed in Frontline's Sick Around the World documentary. Explain which system has done the best job of balancing private interests and public good and why.

Alternative Medicine (PP11)

Should publicly funded health programs pay for alternative services and treatments that have not been tested in controlled clinical settings? Why or why not?

Animal Rights Extremism (PP10)

Read the articles and commentary below about animal rights extremists and the recent car firebombings. What rights, if any, do animals have? Why or why not? Is the type of violence discussed in these articles ever justified as a means to stop animal research?

Animal Research Activists Firebomb Car
Press Release from UCLA Newsroom

More on the UCLA Firebombing
From the LA Times

Commentary on Animal Rights Extremists
From Adventures in Ethics and Science Blog