05/06/2019
Parental Rights
By Neil Skjoldal What rights do parents have when it comes to the medical care of their children? This bioethical question has recently arisen in the case of Noah McAdams, a 3-year-old who has been diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. According to news reports, the recommended treatment in his case is chemotherapy. His parents decided …
04/01/2019
Bad News
By Neil Skjoldal Many of us have witnessed the giving of bad news to a patient. It is never a pleasant experience. Unfortunately, some medical professionals are simply not skilled enough to share bad news in a way that is both compassionate and comprehensible. And even if they are, it is still bad news after …
03/04/2019
The Abuse of DNA Technology
By Neil Skjoldal In a provocative article entitled, “China Uses DNA to Track its People, With the Help of American Expertise,” The New York Times tells the story of how the Chinese government is using DNA information in part to make the Uyghurs, “a predominantly Muslim ethnic group, more subservient to the Communist Party.” To accomplish this …
02/04/2019
Gender & Pain
By Neil Skjoldal Last week, The Washington Post published a summary of a recent article in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology entitled “Gender Bias in Pediatric Pain Assessment.” The participants of the study were shown a video with a child described as a girl or boy enduring pain. The authors “then asked adults to rate how much pain …
01/07/2019
Facebook & Ethics
Most of us probably know that Facebook keeps track of its users. Its programmers have created algorithms that can guess our preferences in all sorts of areas, even in politics. Most of us probably also know that Facebook has come under scrutiny for its actions (or non-actions) during the previous election cycle. Its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, has made …
12/03/2018
Approaching Immortality?
By Neil Skjoldal With the death of President George H. W. Bush this past weekend, the country seems united in eulogizing him for, among other things, having lived “a well-lived life,” because amidst his accomplishments, he was able to reach 94 years of age. This brought to mind a recent article published in The NY …
10/01/2018
The Sad Case of Daniel Te’o-Nesheim
BY NEIL SKJOLDAL The New York Times recently published a lengthy article on Daniel Te’o-Nesheim, a former NFL player who died at age 30 after playing football for half his life. With all the recent information about the dangers of football-related head trauma, it is not surprising to learn that upon his death, Te’o-Nesheim’s family donated …
08/06/2018
Every Day is a Gift
By Neil Skjoldal Into the genre of news reports about physician assisted suicide comes a powerful piece from The Washington Post. It is the story of J. J. Hanson who was diagnosed with a glioblastoma multiforme. It traces his difficult journey as it relates to PAS. Because of the poor prognosis, treatments at times seemed …
07/02/2018
Goodbye, Korematsu
Supreme Court watchers always eagerly anticipate the last week of June because that is when the highest court in the land usually reaches decisions in its most controversial cases. Last week did not disappoint — several of the decisions were reached by the slimmest of majorities (the infamous 5-4 vote). Then, to add to the …
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