Autonomy is the fundamental principle of contemporary bioethics – or most of it. In moral dilemmas, the path leading to greater autonomy is normally the right one. But are there exceptions? In a fascinating article in the Journal of Medical Ethics, Laura Williamson, of Augusta University, in Georgia, argues that substance abuse is a disorder for […]
The good news is indicated by the findings of research which analysed immune memory in those who had recovered from Covid-19, and found that, eight months after infection, most people still had enough immune cells to fight off the virus and prevent another illness. The researchers reported a powerful, long-lasting response, and, while the findings […]
Well, look, whatever, eh, melts her butter, I suppose: British model Lottie Moss has revealed that she is pansexual. During an Instagram Q&A on Monday, Moss — who is the younger sister of supermodel Kate Moss — responded to a follower asking if she would prefer to date a woman. “I’m pansexual so I don’t […]
Lobby groups for Canadians with disabilities are working hard to defeat a bill broadening the scope of euthanasia legislation. Under the current legislation, although some people with chronic illness want “medical aid in dying” (MAiD), they may not be eligible because their death is not “reasonably foreseeable”, in the words of the legislation. A new […]
Written by John William O’ Sullivan If you are familiar with political discussion in 2020 then you’ve probably heard the phrase the ‘Great Reset’. The Great Reset is a strange notion. If you put the term into Google, you will see New York Times articles denouncing it as a conspiracy theory next to Time articles […]
Dr Mike Fitzpatrick sympathises with the effects of the Covid pandemic lockdown on the elderly, but warns against older people disregarding the restrictions, not least because robustly proclaiming that the interests of young people should not be sacrificed to those who have lived much longer ‘gives succour to those who are inclined to the view […]
Even in a covid prioritizing world, there is something strange and no doubt significant about the low level reaction to the beheading of a schoolteacher on a Paris street last month. The equally tepid response to the equally barbarous killing of three people, in no way associated with the provocation, in a Nice church over a […]
The Children’s Commissioner for England, Anne Longfield OBE, has issued a series of reports showing how the children’s residential social care system is “broken” and is failing many of the most vulnerable children. She warns that children are being “dumped” in “rat-infested care homes”, that thousands of young people are being failed by the State, […]
The survey, by the Irish Palliative Medicine Consultants’ Association, found that almost nine of out ten of its members responded to the question on the legalisation of Assisted Suicide, with every one of those who did opposing the proposal.
On the 102nd anniversary of the end of WWI we look at how colossal leadership errors and inability to learn caused catastrophic hardship and death, and how our leaders followed the same blundering style of management during the corona virus pandemic. On this day in 1918, Europe collapsed exhausted, with neither the Germans nor the […]
In the week since American voters went to the polls, most things about the result have become clear, and a few things remain outstanding. Joe Biden has been declared, by the media, Democrats, and more than a few Republicans, to be the President-Elect. He has spent the last few days beginning to assemble an administration, […]
The raggle-taggle, baseball and medieval implement-brandishing band of conscripts converge with one accord on a pile of unsuspecting bargain T-shirts piled up in front of a roadside stall. As the whistle blows ferociously, they raise their weapons and bring them down repeatedly on the lifeless mound shouting “Kill! Kill! Kill!” Giggling uncontrollably, they are called […]